LAC (Lugano art and culture)

Three unmissable shows at LAC in Lugano in January

08 January 2025

Curated by Paula Chiericati

Theatre, games and magic on stage, to enchant the Ticino audience and beyond

In January, the LAC in Lugano offers its spectators three shows dedicated to the performing arts, confirming itself as an increasingly attractive theatre hub for Italian-speaking audiences and attracting visitors to Lugano well beyond the borders of our Canton.

The irresistible boys

It begins next Tuesday – January 14 – with the story that starts from two actors, who became famous thanks to a variety show, who meet again after many years to stage it again.

Playing them are none other than Umberto Orsini and Franco Branciaroli, two giants of Italian theatre, protagonists of The irresistible boys, famous comedy by Neil Simon directed by Massimo Popolizio. The show will be on stage at the LAC on Tuesday 14th and Wednesday 15th January at 20:30 pm.

The plot

Two elderly actors, who have worked together all their lives and then separated due to irreconcilable misunderstandings, are invited to reunite for a single evening on the occasion of a television program dedicated to the history of the glorious American variety show.

The old contrasts soon reappear, giving rise to a theatrical mechanism of brilliant comedy and profound melancholy. Some exchanges of jokes and hilarious situations are a source not only of comedy, but also of a look of profound tenderness for that world of theater that, when it sees its protagonists headed down the path of decline, shows all its human fragility.

A tribute to the world of actors, to their small, delightful manias and tragic miseries. A comedy in which Massimo Popolizio directs his fellow travelers with whom he has shared countless experiences.

The Game at LAC Lugano

Art, entertainment and social experiment: after the success of last season, from 16 to 19 January The Game by Trickster-p, a LAC co-production that investigates the relationship between performance, play and society.

Trickster-p creates an absolutely innovative and experimental scenario, unavailable elsewhere, where spectators can approach, through play, the dynamics of complexity and at the same time build collective tools for possible changes.

The playing field we are invited to interact with thanks to The Game it is contemporary society itself and, in particular, its relationship with the organizational structures and economic dynamics on which it is based.

If conventional theatrical performances allow us to experience lives we have not lived, play allows us to experience new and unexpected forms of action. The Game it is a participatory and intergenerational project that does not limit itself to supporting existing social and cultural positions, but opens a space of possibilities in which to upset and modify them, showing how playing means (also) questioning visions and perspectives.

Aladdin – The Musical

Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th January at 16pm, the Sala Teatro will host Aladdin – The Musical by Stefano D'Orazio.
The engaging Arabian story of the penniless scoundrel and Princess Jasmine becomes a musical for the whole family, with the melodies of Pooh and the extraordinary participation of Max Laudadio, historic correspondent of Strip the news, here in the role of the Genie of the lamp.

The plot

Among the palaces and alleys of ancient Baghdad, the lives of two very different people are destined to intertwine: on one side the heir to the throne, the young and rebellious Princess Jasmine, forced to marry without love to give continuity to the Sultanate; on the other the young Aladin, a cunning thief with a heart of gold and a "pure soul", perpetually hunted for his actions on the edge of the law.

Their first meeting is love at first sight, an idyll shattered by the evil Grand Vizier, who, driven by his thirst for power, tends to interfere and deceive both of them. The chance meeting between Aladdin and the Genie of the lamp will give the boy the strength to react and try to change his destiny and that of his beloved.

A story of love and friendship, rebellion and justice, in a fairytale setting enriched by a pinch of magic, where dreams can come true. The show is in collaboration with GC Events.