COLPI DI MASCHERA
Mask Mayhem
A vibrant tribute to the tradition of Commedia dell’Arte, reimagined through a modern pop lens.
The play is in Italian.
Wednesday, October 21, 2026 | 7 PM
Stanford University – Toyon Hall, 455 Arguello Way, Stanford
Free Admission | Registration Required
Arlecchino and Brighella are preparing for an important reception at Colombina’s Inn. When the guests — the audience itself — arrive too early, the duo decide to entertain them and buy time by improvising a Shakespeare-inspired performance. In the plot, a usurper has murdered the king— his own brother— and imprisoned the queen. Brighella and Arlecchino, with the help of Pantalone and the ghost of the late king, must rescue the queen and save the kingdom.
The sixty-minute wait before dinner turns into a lively meta-theatrical journey that blends the most iconic elements of Commedia dell’Arte and classical theater — leather masks, traditional comic “lazzi”, and references to Hamlet and The Servant of Two Masters — with contemporary pop culture, including cinematic references and modern-inspired musical interludes.
A collaboration of the Leonardo da Vinci Society San Francisco with the Consulate General of Italy in San Francisco, the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco and the Stanford University Department of French and Italian.