Silvio Orlando on Pirandello, Rage & the Power of Theatre

Silvio Orlando on Pirandello, Rage, and the Search for Truth in Contemporary Theatre

Actor Silvio Orlando, currently captivating audiences in Andrea Baracco’s production of Luigi Pirandello’s ‘Il berretto a sonagli’ (The Cap and Bells), reflects on the enduring relevance of the playwright and the surprising wellspring of emotion the role has unlocked within him.

In a recent interview, Orlando described a “non-definitive” quality to Pirandello’s work, a certain “shakiness” that he finds particularly appealing. “Pirandello was a great experimenter,” he said. “I share many things with him, and in working on his work, in delving deeper, I rediscover many themes that concern today.”

The play centers on Ciampa, a marginalized man constantly dismissed and unheard. Orlando wonders if characters like Ciampa will always exist. “He’s a little man, a small bureaucrat, an employee who no one listens to,” Orlando explained. “Yet he has things to say, even important things. He explodes, and risks causing a massacre. The rage explodes, this dominant feeling that often guides our actions. The surprising thing is discovering even my own rage. I am a very ‘contained’ man, who tends towards self-censorship. On stage, I can unleash this rage.”

Orlando describes the experience as cathartic. “And it’s pleasant to be inside a theatrical ‘machine’ like ‘Il berretto a sonagli,’ which is perfect even after one hundred and twenty years.” He also highlighted the empathetic connection forged with the audience, calling it “a miraculous thing.” However, he expressed concern that contemporary theatre has lost its ability to connect with people’s feelings and expectations.

When asked about his perception of the current state of the world, Orlando didn’t hesitate to voice his dissatisfaction. “It seems we are living in a period where thinking has gone out of fashion,” he stated. “I see the brutality of our present. Just think of politics. With Trump, we’ve returned to the club.”

Psychologists often advise that anger must be expressed, lest it turn inward. Orlando agrees, noting that rage is “fuel that can become energy, can set a machine in motion, but can also blow it up.” He believes that the mechanisms for coping with anger are disappearing. “There is no trust in others anymore. Not even in psychologists, in doctors. Who, in fact, are often attacked. As happens to those on the front lines, in emergency rooms. They are people who find themselves facing people’s frustration.”

The internet, and particularly social media, are often seen as outlets for this frustration. Orlando suggests a different remedy. “Many, instead of being on the internet, should come and stretch their brains a little at the theatre,” he said. “They think they find the truth on the internet, but it’s the truth that others want them to believe. In reality, the question is: how much truth can a man bear before risking going mad? The human being was not built to withstand the whole truth. He must take it homeopathically.”

The theme of truth is central to Pirandello’s work, and Orlando feels a strong connection to that exploration, particularly the relationship to “inner truth.”

For Orlando, theatre is more than just a profession; it’s a lifelong passion that has evolved into an obsession, and now, a fixation. “Thanks to the theatre, you create your own field of investigation.”

Orlando is also returning to the cinema with a role in Lucia Calamaro’s upcoming film, ‘Antartica – Quasi una fiaba’ (Antarctica – Almost a Fairy Tale), scheduled for release in March March. He plays the head of a mission of young people traveling to Antarctica to study cryogenics – the science of preserving life at very low temperatures – and the concept of people choosing to be cryogenically frozen with the hope of being revived in the future. He describes the film as a blend of comedy and drama.

Orlando’s performance in ‘Il berretto a sonagli’ is currently running at the Teatro Strehler in Milan through April 26, 2026.