Meet Francesca Reggiani - Icon of Italian Comedy, Film, TV and Theatre

Speaking with Francesca Reggiani is a truly captivating experience, it is as if you were part of a performance! Reggiani is a comedian and actress icon of Italian theatre, TV and Cinema. In this interview, she reveals the relationship with her master Gigi Proietti and interesting anecdotes from her career and future projects. Read till the end to discover one of the highlights of her career… you won’t regret it!

Tell us about your acting school, what was it like to have Gigi Proietti as a teacher.

My cultural knowledge was mostly inherited from my family, I learned very little from high-school. But I had this great passion for acting. As a child, I wanted to go to the cinema in the afternoon to see comedies, and even the ballet. My parents even gave me an afternoon pass to the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma for my birthday. Moral of the story, I fell in love with acting at a very young age, and I always thought I had an amazing dramatic talent.

Once I finished high-school I told my parents I wanted to be a mime, I was too ashamed to say I wanted to become an actress. Finally I was able to speak the truth, and they gave me one year to accomplish my desire to enter the world of acting. So, I studied privately at an acting school and all of a sudden... the competition notice for the school of Gigi Proietti came out. It was a complicated call and I prepared for the four step exam very well. Then, a telegram arrived home announcing that I got accepted... it was the most wonderful feeling!

From the beginning, Proietti was an extremely paternal person, very affectionate, a little distant but very soft inside. Every day in the morning we had an hour of singing, an hour of sung solfeggio and an hour of dance. Then, after recess, there was acting class, and Gigi came every afternoon to check in with us, he was extraordinarily available. We did these little seminars with great artists such as Rossella Falk or Liza Minnelli; Proietti knew an incredible amount of interesting people.

I was very lucky because the first show I did after graduating, entitled “Agitare Prima dell’Uso”, was directed and produced by Proietti himself, he encouraged me so much to write that it then became something tangible.

How did Proietti’s teachings accompany you throughout your career?

I am currently supposed to stage the true story of Florence Jenkins, that lady who in the post-war American era was obsessed with opera singing even though she was out of tune like a bell. At the cinema, Meryl Streep did the role better than me, so to speak. At first, the directors gave me the script with a certain air of self-confidence, but as soon as I stood in front of them, I started reciting it like a rocket. They asked how I could read the music so well, and I replied “ I did Proietti’s school”! Immediately after I called Gigi to tell him everything, and he was really pleased and proud.

A few years ago I was invited to attend the Teatro Olimpico season, the same theatre where I once used to go see him perform… I was so excited that I called him and said: "Gigi you won't believe it, I'm in your dressing room".

Just like one never forgets how to ride a bicycle, I will always cherish his teachings.

“L’uomo ha una data di nascita, la donna una data di scadenza” or "Men have a date of birth, women have an expiration date" ... I find it brilliant. You are able to touch upon very delicate topics by making people laugh, a very powerful weapon.

These are jokes that come naturally to me. When I try to explain to my authors in which direction we should write, I explain my ideas briefly and spontaneously to them. In this case, I explained how I noticed that the old age between a man and a woman is perceived differently, men are seductive throughout their life, women have a birth and an expiration date, like milk and yogurt. Normally a woman expires after the age of 37/38. The writers then write this down and keep it as a line for my show.

Many have told me that coming to see me at the theater feels like having a conversation. Instead it is all written and learned by heart, sometimes I improvise a joke, but it is all written and the authors have a very important role.

Do you believe that anything can be said with satire, or is there a limit?

With good satire, you can certainly say many things in a non-offensive way. Indeed, it is an excellent means. Years ago there was much more freedom of satire. Once the final theme song of a TV program, I believe it was in 1993, was called "God is Secular" and the tune said "God is secular like me"… I doubt today they would ever make you play such a song on today's Television.

Despite the enormous speeding up of things brought by computers, the internet, and social media, there is a restoration of customs, ways of being and acting. Once certain jokes could be made, there was an almost absolute freedom – today one risks insults on social media. On the other hand, this restoration of customs is what progress looks like to me.

Progress travelled very fast from many points of view during your career... 

Indeed… I remember telling my mom "can you imagine if one day each of us could go out on the street with their phone and make a call?" At the time it seemed inconceivable to her. Ten years later here we are; progress does travel very fast. Still, I notice that people truly enjoy going to the cinema, to exhibitions and to the theatre.

Have you become more techy having to adapt to the “smart” everything of these times?

Of course, and I indeed invite everyone to go to my Facebook and Instagram pages. Recently, I made a sketch about Ilaria Capua, a fundamental virologist. With Covid-19 virologists often find themselves in conflict with each other ... one says one thing, and the other says the opposite. 

So I wrote a piece where Ilaria Capua explains that “we often hear how little to nothing is known about this virus. There have been moments of confusion and conflict even amongst my virologist colleagues. With respect to this, an axiom like the Pythagorean Theorem has been coined which says "when two virologists say the same thing, one of the two is not a virologist"’.

A highlight of your career?

One of the greatest moments of my career was when I was with you little ones, your parents Alberto and Monica and Rosalba and Daniela in Via del Corso, walking after eating a pizza in Piazza Augusto Imperatore. I had my car parked near the Palace Hotel and Mel Gibson arrived. Your father said "look, it's Mel Gibson"! In that exact moment, two kids passed by on the other side of the street and shouted “anvedi la Reggiani”! or “oh look it's Francesca Reggiani”! To this day, this has remained the highest point of my career.

To watch Francesca Reggiani’s latest news and performances, check out her Instagram and Facebook pages, you won’t stop laughing for a moment!

All Photography courtesy of Francesca Reggiani.