Italian critic Rossella Battisti describes Pierattini as “a sensitive narrator of small, contemporary tragedies” (L’Unita). Indeed, the terrain of The Return – a gentrifying, postindustrial Northern city whose demographics are changing due to ongoing waves of immigration – will likely provoke viewers to draw parallels between Bergamo and similar urban landscapes in the U.K.
 

The purpose of LegalAliens’ version, however, is not to transpose the play to a UK context, but to find a language that preserves the linguistic and cultural flavor of the Italian text. Our cast, composed entirely of Italian actors performing in English, was uniquely placed to do this work and the script was the result of months of workshopping, rehearsing and conversations. The Return is not only a story about Bergamo, or Italy, or even Europe, but about any society in which cultures and values collide. At the same time, the play opens a window on a contemporary Italy that bears little resemblance to the stereotypes associated with a country we think we know.