Do you remember him as Alberto Tomba, when the skier was the myth of all Italians, or as the perpetually angry motorist? It is with those two cult characters that Gioele Dix made himself known to the large television audience. Comedian, cabaret artist, actor, playwright, theater director and also writer, the 66-year-old Milanese artist, born David Ottolenghi, entertained entire generations, without ever neglecting his great love for the theater because «every evening is a something new, a different emotion».
Now he is on stage with "The race behind the wind", the new show inspired by the stories of Dino Buzzati of which he also signs dramaturgy and direction. With him on stage the delightful actress Valentina Cardinali. And in this unprecedented theatrical journey, inspired precisely by Buzzatian atmospheres, Gioele Dix also talks about himself, his tastes, his restlessness, his chronic intolerances.
The pièce will also stop in Sardinia for five dates of the Grande Prose by Cedac. It begins on Tuesday 22nd November at the Tonio Dei theater in Lanusei and then on Wednesday 23rd at the Garau theater in Oristano, Thursday 24th at the Tamuli pavilion ex Mura di Macomer barracks and Friday 25th at the municipal theater of San Gavino Monreale all starting at 9pm. Saturday 26th instead at the Bocheteatro theater in Nuoro it starts at 20.30.
Tell us Gioele, is "The race behind the wind" inspired by Buzzati?
“Yes, many of his stories. He was first of all a reporter, a journalist, so he had this great ability to tell reality, then with a narrator vein that he put above all in the stories».
She loves him for a long time...
«Already last year I made audio books with some of his most important works. I already knew his stories and I told myself that sooner or later I would stage them. The theater is a great training ground for quality literature, it's a wonderful exercise. I did a selection job, even a painful one, staying very faithful to the plot. He generally tells very recognizable stories, where there is always an element of mystery and suspension».
But can you tell us how the character of the motorist was born?
«It was born from my personal experience in a car. I'm so, a little exasperated. Especially when I was younger, now I'm a little different, wiser and more resigned. He is a character who has captured one of the contemporary neuroses».
Are you annoyed that they still identify you with that character?
«No, no, in fact I am very pleased. If I'm remembered for that, I'll be happy. It often happens that in some programs some young people try to do something similar and everyone says "don't get involved in that thing that Gioele Dix did". They are like the puzzle week that boasts countless attempts at imitation!».
And Alberto Tomba instead?
«He showed he was in the game, he was a great sportsman. Too bad he retired."