Asses.masses, a Salerno il Videogioco Diventa Spettacolo Internazionale per il Campania Teatro Festival

Here is the translation of the Italian text into English:

It is a truly unique show to be experienced with intelligence and fun, "asses.masses", co-created by Canadians Patrick Blenkarn and Milton Lim, with dramaturgy by Laurel Green. It will be staged starting at 4 p.m., for over 7 hours, on November 17 at Sala Pasolini in Salerno. An immersive and original work, it's a true video game designed to be played entirely by the audience and live, one person at a time. The epic story is about a herd of unemployed donkeys trying to reclaim their duties taken over by automation. Brave spectators will take turns leading the herd to discover the difference, in a post-industrial society, between the work that defines us and the play that frees us. Canadians Patrick Blenkarn and Milton Lim are conceptual artists who question the current social value of art, offering us a bold and political show, a kind of "Animal Farm" meets "Pokemon" and "Final Fantasy". By blending their backgrounds in performance, philosophy, psychology, and digital media, they have developed video games, participatory installations, digital archives, and card games. Their projects have been presented throughout Canada, as well as in Argentina, Mexico, and the United Kingdom, in English, French, and Spanish.

All texts of asses.masses are available on screen. The show, whose duration varies depending on how long it takes the audience to finish the game, will be presented in Italian. Food will be offered throughout the show and served during each break, while drinks will be available for purchase. asses.masses is not designed to allow the audience to come and go at will or to arrive late, but each person can choose their own way to enjoy it. However, the invitation is to arrive on time and not to miss the introduction to the video game. Breaks are scheduled every one and a half hours.

Tickets, which cost from 8 to 5 euros, are available on the official website and, if still available, at event venues starting one hour before the show. Discounted tickets are available for those under 30, over 65, and holders of the Feltrinelli Card (a maximum of 2 tickets per event). Free admission is reserved for people with disabilities accompanied by a caregiver and pensioners receiving social benefits.

The event is realized with the concrete support of the Campania Region, directed by Ruggero Cappuccio and organized by the Campania dei Festival Foundation chaired by Alessandro Barbano. The Campania Teatro Festival, which is a significant part of the Italy Festival network and the European Festival Association (EFA), benefits from the contribution allocated by the Ministry of Culture for its multidisciplinary significance and quality of programming.