MILAN — Museo Bagatti Valsecchi continues its commitment to original theatrical production with “Persempremai,” a new monologue premiering Wednesday, May 13, 2026, as part of the fifth edition of the “Stasera al Museo” (Tonight at the Museum) series.
Over the past three editions, the museum has successfully produced and staged four original works written and performed within its historic rooms. For 2026, two new productions are scheduled, beginning with “Persempremai.”
The performance stars Nika Perrone, who also co-writes the dramaturgy alongside Michele Di Mauro. Di Mauro also directs the production, with sound design by Riccardo Alemanni and costumes by Agostina Imperi.
The entire 2026 programming of Museo Bagatti Valsecchi draws inspiration from the current exhibition “Depero Space to Space. La Creazione della Memoria” (running until August 2, curated by Nicoletta Boschiero and Antonio D’Amico). The fifth edition of Stasera al Museo is titled “Lasciami mezz’ora per vedere” — “Give me half an hour to see” — a phrase used by Futurist artist Fortunato Depero in the 1940s, inviting audiences to grant themselves the time needed to observe, understand reality, and let art surprise them.
That same Deperian motto serves as the creative springboard for “Persempremai.” The work is a structurally layered monologue built within a precise temporal framework, where time becomes both the origin and destination of the theatrical discourse. The text weaves a dense reflection on action, understanding, suffering, desire, and memory, ultimately questioning the very concept of “seeing” and the subjective perspective it entails.
The “half hour” becomes both a minimal and absolute unit — a suspended space in which the individual is called to choose, to expose themselves, or to withdraw. Within this interval, the protagonist navigates fundamental themes — identity, faith, desire, and memory — as fluid, continuously transforming dimensions.
Language moves freely between registers: from the everyday to the absurd, from the lyrical to the comic, from the sacred to the profane, building a porous and inclusive text that embraces both high culture and popular references.
The performer functions as a subject of transit and translation — a woman crossing eras, myths, and memories. She is Orpheus and Eurydice, Mary and Mary Magdalene, Teresa of Ávila and Frida Kahlo, Amy Winehouse and the Lady of the Camellias: a chorus of “She” demanding the right to see and be seen.
The work presents itself as a secular reflection on the relationship between the everyday and the transcendent, inviting the spectator to pause the continuous flow of experience and dwell in a state of awareness. At its core lies an essential exhortation: to recognize time, inhabit it, and govern it — before it runs out or overwhelms us.
The evening opens with a convivial welcome: guests are invited to share an aperitif offered by Altemasi Trentodoc, Amaro Alpino, and Valverde before being carried away by the performance.
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