Fiori d'arancio

In a cramped, rustic school office the walls lean at odd angles, a towering clock hangs motionless above a cluttered desk, and a wide balcony opens onto the countryside. The space feels lived‑in, with a worn armchair, a water bottle on a washbasin, and a dangling bell‑string that seems ready to ring at any moment. This intimate setting becomes the stage for a peculiar clash of personalities.

The school director, a cynical man named Vannucci, grumbles about the futility of compulsory education while eyeing the clock’s gears with a bone‑thin stick. Across from him, Don Paolo—half‑asleep in a battered chair—offers a sleepy counterpoint, his coffee described as a “potent narcotic.” Their dialogue crackles with satire, as Vannucci’s plan to “set free” the girls’ classes is announced through a series of exaggerated gestures and the clamor of the bell.

Through witty banter and absurd rituals, the play sketches a portrait of rural bureaucracy, stubborn tradition, and the humor that arises when authority meets reluctant reform. Listeners will be drawn into the lively, farcical world where even a school clock becomes a tool of power.