My Name Is
Antonino Calderone

by Dacia Maraini


Based on The Men of Dishonour by Pino Arlacchi
Translated by Alex Standen and Nicolette Kay
Antonino Calderone was played by Tim Woodward
Directed by Nicolette Kay | Designed by James Helps
The MAC Birmingham

Dacia Maraini, dramatises the memoirs of Sicilian Mafioso, Antonino Calderone. His confessions to Judge Falcone caused a sensation and led to the arrest of 200 Italian mobsters.

Can a murderer elicit sympathy?  Yes, sometimes, if we witness his transformation, if we closely follow the turmoil that dwells within him and fills him with pain.” Dacia Maraini.

My Name is Antonino Calderone is the world-first translation of one of Dacia Maraini’s most recent successes. It is a play about the Mafia, which is based on the testimonies of an ex-Mafioso.

The play provides insight into the real world of organised crime and how one man became trapped and desperate, fearing for his own and his family’s lives.  He was one of the first men to break the Mafia code of silence. 

Animation by Dimitris Dimos

Powerful boss, Calderone, controlled the affairs of the Mafia in Catania, Sicily, until the late 70’s when he lost the Mafia war against the notorious Nitto Santapaola.  He fled Italy and was arrested, in France.  Calderone decided to co-operate with Judge Giovanni Falcone who then spent over a year interviewing him. Calderone’s sensational revelations led to 200 arrests and were collected into a book “The Men of Dishonour”  by Pino Arlacchi, the play is adapted from the book, performed by one actor.

“..enlightening, entertaining..moving”

audience feedback, workshop development

Development showcases have taken place in London, The Assembly Theatre bar Tunbridge Wells and the Brighton Fringe Festival.

We developed the translation of the play with a number of different partners including Winchester University students,  the University of Birmingham and Birmingham City Council. Development work took place in Tunbridge Wells and was also shown in London. Practitioners also worked in Milan, providing education & workshops as well as curating an event in Birmingham called Italy & The Mafia.

A version of the text played for one night at The Brighton Fringe Festival

For more information on this and future performances contact us.