Icaro

Daniele Finzi Pasca is magnificent and I left the auditorium in tears. Set in a room in a Swiss mental asylum, he talks about his dream of flying away like Icarus to evade this painful reality. Finzi Pasca is a natural born clown and his bulbous shoes and Pirouette style clothes make him a visually alluring narrator and Italian drifts in and out of this piece like vibrant music whilst the atmosphere created through his emotive narration is magical. This is a captivating and life affirming production as it proves that by freeing someone's imagination you enable them to defy tragedy and pain. You would have to be dead inside not to be touched by this stunning piece and I can only urge you with all my heart to go and see it.

Captivity has a way of inspiring creativity. Some of the world’s greatest works of art and literature were created behind prison walls, and Icaro follows this tradition. Conceived during Daniele Finzi Pasca’s imprisonment for refusing to serve in the Swiss army, Icaro is a magical and touching story about the power of imagination, inspired by the ancient Greek myth of Icarus, who tried to fly to the sun on wings of wax. Pasca’s clowning is masterful, and his visual and verbal gags will have you crying with laughter, but there is an incredibly delicate and poetic aspect to the show. Despite his broken English (his mother tongue is Italian), Pasca communicates with the audience on a level that is truly profound. It is impossible not to be moved by the charismatic and tender Pasca. Icaro leaves a sense of wonder and delight not felt since childhood.

Written, directed, and performed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, the founder of Swiss-Italian Company Teatro Sunil, Icaro is a comic and touching one-man show inspired and dedicated to the Greek myth of Icarus. The myth tells the story of Icarus, who attempted to escape from Crete by making a pair of wax wings and flying away. This production is a touching remake on the desire to fly as a longing for freedom. With his roguish-boy looks and the Italian twinkle in his eye, Pasca charms the audience through every movement of his flight. An actor, clown, and improviser extraordinaire, he is an artist of infinite quality.

Finzi Pasca as Icaro effortlessly and singlehandedly carries the more-than-90-minute play through a spectrum of emotions from the histerically funny to the tragic and pathetic. Finzi Pasca is captivating as Icaro, the clown whose struggles against destiny, sickness and pain ultimately convert him into an everyman who dramatizes the human condition and touches a note in every human heartю