Enrico IV

Nobel Prize-winner Luigi Pirandello’s ENRICO IV concerns a passionate and despairing 20th-century man who imagines himself to be an 11th-century king.

The time is the early 1920s and the place is an isolated Italian villa, but it might as well be the 12th century. The master of the house bumped his head twenty years ago during a costume ball and has since believed himself to be King Enrico IV of Germany. As the play goes on, perception, reality, fantasy and freedom become confused…an effective new adaptation by Richard Nelson.

Chad Jones, The Oakland Tribune

ENRICO IV is about a man who deliberately chooses to dwell in the rich fantasy life of his madness even after he regains his sanity. Pirandello’s finely strung paradox probes the issue of what self-concept qualifies as sane. Richard Nelson’s beautifully translated script paired with Pirandello’s priceless insight into self-image and delusion…make this truly an evening of epiphany.

Pamela Fisher, San Francisco Examiner

A sparkling new translation

Pat Craig, San Francisco Times