When Theatre Becomes a Safe Space for Young Minds
Andrée Ruth Shammah brings back Chi come me by Roy Chen: a poetic and intimate theatre piece exploring adolescence, fragility and mental health through the healing power of theatre.
After sold-out runs and critical acclaim, the play returns to the Franco Parenti Theatre in Milan, till March 1. But Chi come me is not a revival driven by nostalgia. It is a necessary return.
The text was born from a real encounter. In 2019, Roy Chen — acclaimed writer, translator and resident playwright of Teatro Gesher — was invited to attend a theatre workshop inside a mental health centre in Tel Aviv. What began as an observation slowly became a shared experience: hours spent listening, watching, playing, and breaking the silence together.
On stage, we meet a group of adolescents hospitalized in a psychiatric ward. Their days are filled with anxiety, fragility, moments of joy and sudden darkness. Dorit, a young theatre teacher, enters their closed world with a simple but radical proposal: to create a play together. Through rehearsals, words and movement, these young people begin to recognise themselves — and each other.
Chi come me moves lightly, yet leaves a deep trace. It speaks of mental health in adolescence without labels or rhetoric, choosing instead tenderness, irony and truth. Theatre becomes a space where emotions are not corrected or silenced, but welcomed.
In a time when the mental well-being of young people is often discussed through numbers and alarms, this play reminds us of something essential: awareness begins with empathy. And sometimes, healing starts by saying, softly, “me too”.
For more info visit teatrofrancoparenti.it
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