A rift opens onto a parallel world that is simultaneously primitive and posthumous. In this strange yet familiar dimension, the visceral theme of hunger becomes a tangible narrative, drawing in audiences of all ages.
The natural slowness of agriculture and the speed of industrial production are narrative forces that engage the audience’s senses, prompting them to see, taste, smell, touch and listen as part of a timeless ritual.
Nunc is a layering of languages, consciously brought into play by a close-knit collective of artist-craftspeople, prompting reflection on the consequences our actions set in motion throughout history.
The absence of spoken language and the presence of a complex dramaturgy working through sound, space, masks and objects sends a poetic seed plunging into the roots of tradition, where it sprouts into an outcome unlike anything seen before: entertainment without consolation.

<< At 8.10pm, the BRAT Company finally took to the Sala Grande stage with their production of NUNC. The Italian performers put on a show of international calibre that made the local audience and festival-goers laugh. Their powerful message won everyone over thanks to the beautiful costumes and sophisticated mask work. They tackled the important issue of the climate crisis and its impact on food in a humorous yet sensitive way. A distinctive feature of the performance was that the actors performed on damp peat, fertile Italian earth they had brought with them. Interest in the post-show discussion with the company was clear: after the question-and-answer session, a group of audience members and festival-goers remained gathered around the performers, intrigued and with eyes full of enthusiasm. The PAN Festival brought us world-class art that we would otherwise never have had the chance to see. To show us what is possible. >>

Njúz – Festival PAN (Slovakia)

<< The choice of this kind of narrative, mythical, evocative, mysterious and ruthless, is one of NUNC’s greatest strengths: a children’s fairy tale that sparks reflection on the universal absolute, which all adults should (re)watch. It is not a fairy tale with a character to identify with and one to fear; it is not a fairy tale that connects us with the ‘elsewhere’; it is not a fairy tale that presents itself as a satisfying interlude ( from ‘Once upon a time’ to the conclusion where order is restored, whatever that may be). Rather, it is a myth with the breath and shivers of a prophetic book, without characters but with figures that precede their identification, […] in an absolute and almost metaphysical space […], and above all a myth which – precisely because of its epic power – does not present itself as a narrative ‘interlude’, but as a phantasmal, if not esoteric, revelation of the universal balance between Order and Disorder. All this in an entertaining, wordless performance created for children. Who take part in it, spellbound. And manage […] to grasp the profound meaning of this brief history of humanity, in the conceptual balance between the apocalypse (and the vertigo it represents) and popcorn (with its ephemeral insubstantiality). >>

Stefano Casi – casicritici

<< This collective creation, directed by Claudio Colombo and featuring the talented Agata Garbuio, Claudia Manuelli, Michele Guidi and Paolo Tosin, has a structure reminiscent of the ancient form of the fairy tale – a story with an unvarnished ending that offers no hope and disconcerts the spectator, thus serving as a warning. The story of NUNC, whose title deliberately recalls the Latin word for ‘now’, is simple yet touches on issues of sustainability, and also speaks about the importance of relationships and solidarity. In no uncertain terms, NUNC tells us that if we remain solely in the here and now without sharing our wealth and discoveries, the inhabitants of the world will become extinct. A single glimmer opens up at the end: a light on a sprout. A new opportunity which, hopefully, we will not waste. >>

Rossella Marchi – EOLO online magazine for children’s theatre

<< If ‘tout public’ theatre is intended to make children grow up and adults become children again, then the young yet well-established Friulian company BRAT has achieved its mission under the implicit motto ‘docere et delectare’. […] BRAT deserves praise for its research into and synthesis of languages and messages, light yet profound, poetic yet entertaining, spanning spoken theatre, figure theatre and experimentation, translated into a highly meaningful ‘comic-book-style’ visual and auditory dramaturgy, with the great added value of real sounds recorded ‘at home’, transformed and played back or performed live. ‘Nunc’ means ‘now’. It suggests an awakening of awareness, an immediate reaction. It reminds us of the need for a change of pace. Now, immediately and for real, against that attitude of the ‘eternal present’ embodied by the prevailing bad politics, the cause and consequence of a society distorted by the forgetful, short-sighted and reckless illusion of being able to live in an eternal present.>>

Pietro Corvi – Libertà di Piacenza

<< We couldn’t understand the silent language, of course, but that was their language and we understood the story all the same. It was made up of gestures and actions. […] It’s incredible that we understood everything. Silence is a beautiful language. Perhaps it’s the new language? For me, it is. We understood it well because this story has an origin, a journey and a direction. It speaks of the Earth, the past, the future, indigenous peoples, popcorn and cultivation. […] This is a ritual. An earth ritual with masked characters. They’re probably vegetarians because they’re planting seeds. If treated well, the earth will then bear fruit. This performance tells that story. But instead of fruit, it will produce pots. Thanks to these pots, however, someone in the future will discover how to use them to gather things. They are what remains of us. Will we be found like this? […] I believe they really are on an island. An island cut off from everything. They are a tribe that some sailor will have to find. >>

Children’s Observatory (ages 5–11) – Premio Scenario Infanzia

<< A work that, through a fascination with ritual, brings the myth of primordial creation to the stage. A regenerated creaturely quality seems to emerge in this ‘newly archaic’ universe, which, through a skilful use of masks, effective sound design and a performative approach carefully tailored for children, places at its centre the now truly indispensable theme of environmental sustainability. A powerfully tangible, immersive and multisensory theatrical universe, with great visual impact, mindful of a balance which, while embracing innovation, does not wish to forsake its handcrafted dimension or its fertile relationship with tradition.>>

Critical Observatory – Premio Scenario Infanzia