Botte di Ferro

In Italian, a botte di ferro is literally an iron barrel, but idiomatically it refers to absolute protection, a safe, quasi-sacred place. The play examines a fraught and complex romance between two outer-borough New Yorkers as such a space. Her (an elementary school teacher from South-Brooklyn who self-publishes children’s books and summers in the Hamptons) and Him (a chef from Eastern-Queens who climbs a long ladder of kitchen jobs to his own place) met as kids in summer camp. As their lives diverge, prodded by different cultural-familial frameworks, they continue returning to each other in search of the best versions of themselves. Drifting into the magic of memory, the story begins and ends at Pizzeria Botte di Ferro in Naples, ruminating on the power of place and the relationship between origin and authenticity. Botte di Ferro asks how we care for the people who have hurt us and what happens when we set aside preconceptions and look at what’s in front of us? The play will be performed outside in the semi covered backyard garden patio of The Good Fork Restaurant (391 Van Brunt St.) in Red Hook, Brooklyn. As with all outdoor performance, please be prepared for heat and bugs. The patio bar will be open at 7pm, and you are welcome to come early to have a drink, enjoy your pizza (or with BYO pizza! see recs below), and explore Red Hook. Proof of vaccination required for unmasked patrons. Unvaccinated audience members are expected to to wear masks covering mouth and nose at all times. All audience members must wear masks when entering The Good Fork to use the restrooms. In the event of inclement weather, we will be in contact with you via email the day of the performance regarding plans to postpone or cancel performances. Performances may stop and start due to rain. Patrons will be given the option to stay or leave. If we have to cancel a performance due to inclement weather we will be in contact to reschedule with you. If rescheduling is an impossibility, we can offer a full refund. However, as this is a shoestring production, we ask that in such circumstances where rescheduling is impossible you consider making your ticket purchase a donation if you can afford to.