Una tribù, ecco quello che sono | A Tribe, That Is Me

« La vraie révolution sera mentale ou ne sera pas. »
(The true revolution will be mental, or it will not be.)
— Antonin Artaud

Una tribù, ecco quello che sono | A Tribe, That Is Me (2004) is Jan Fabre’s poetic perspective on the work of theatre visionary Antonin Artaud, the 'founder' of the Théâtre de la Cruauté (1938). This cruelty is not physical, but spiritual—a call to return to raw, unfiltered truth.

In search of a secret ritual to awaken the divine within himself, Artaud journeyed to Indian tribes. Artaud sought purification and self-discovery as a way to reveal the spiritual sickness of humanity."I peel off my body to the bone” reads Fabre’s text.

Humanity is spiritually incapable of dealing with nature. Mankind suffers from spiritual dissatisfaction. Hence the desire to return to a primordial state. To speak of life is also to speak of death. We can only scream at death. Language must become a cry again. Change will come through encounters that heal the wounds in our hearts.

This monologue is the third artistic encounter between Jan Fabre and the captivating Italian actress Irene Uriciuoli.

Irene Urciuoli

Irene Urciuoli was born in Italy in 1992. She trained as an actress, studying under gipeto and graduating from the Accademia dei Filodrammatici in Milan. In 2018, she joined Troubleyn/Jan Fabre, performing in Belgian Rules/Belgium Rules and Mount Olympus. To glorify the cult of tragedy - a 24 hour performance which premiered in New York in November of the same year.

More recently, she appeared in The Fluid Force of Love (2021) and is currently featured in Troubleyn/Jan Fabre’s latest eight-hour production, Peak Mytikas (On the Top of Mount Olympus) (2023).

In addition, she is on tour with three solo performances created for her by Troubleyn/Jan Fabre: Simona, the Gangster of Art (2022), performed in English, French, and Italian, and Io sono un errore | I Am a Mistake (2024) performed in Italian, and Una tribù, ecco quello che sono | A Tribe, That Is Me (2025), performed in Italian. 

Beyond performing, Irene is also a dedicated teacher and a member of the Jan Fabre Teaching Group, training the next generation of performers.

"Irene Urciuoli is an incredible and talented actress. In this monologue ‘Simona, gangster of art’, she celebrates on stage her multi-personality and schizophrenic state of being what is the essence of the craft of an actor… This performance is a metaphor for art, love and passion... defending the vulnerability of beauty.” - Anna Puricella / La Repubblica