Lorenzo Novani
'An actor and dramatist of some depth'
Scotsman
Lorenzo Novani is a Scots-Italian actor, dramatist and magician from Glasgow. To date, he's written two full length plays, one of which (Cracked Tiles) has been performed over 60 times including dates throughout the UK, appeared on TV in several adverts and TV shows and created three unique live magic shows which have been performed throughout the UK and Italy.
After obtaining a BSc Hns in Sport and Exercise Science in 2005, Lorenzo decided to explore his creative abilities and took classes in acting, writing for stage and screen, poetry and comedy at Glasgow's Strathclyde University. His enthusiasm for the creative arts led to performances in semi professional and profit share theatre, which, in turn, resulted in TV appearances in the BBC drama Garrow's Law, soap opera, River City, and TV advertisements for the SNP, Creative Scotland and others. At the same time, Lorenzo, had made contact with groups such as the Glasgow Magic Circle and The Scottish Conjurers' Association as, with his new found confidence in his performing skills, he was keen to indulge his curiosity in the art of magic.
In 2013, after securing a place in the books of corporate entertainment agencies such as Scarlett Entertainment, Warble and Contraband. Lorenzo became a professional magician but not only did he begin performing close-up magic in a corporate context, he immediately started writing full length artistic shows such as 'Poet of the Impossible': a poetic magic show about the power of dreams (recently presented as part of The International Magic Festival). This creative work was only possible due to his theatrical background. Meanwhile, disillusioned with the lack of substantial acting roles available to him, Lorenzo had become a member of a theatre group called Stark which would play a key role in his development both as a magician and a dramatist.
Stark Theatre formed in 2007 immediately working from the point of view that little other than movement, voice and space was required for the production of compelling theatre. The result was a string of site specific performances, some devised, some scripted and some using published scripts to explore the potential of the group and give audiences a unique theatrical experience: Harold Pinter's the Dumb Waiter was produced in Glasgow warehouse, a devised piece about a man locked in his bedroom was performed in a cramped room, several shows were performed produced in cafes and bars. The range of skills exercises and strengthened in his time with Stark Theatre eventually led Lorenzo to consider writing his very own theatrical play about a very personal experience.
Lorenzo finished his first draft of Cracked Tiles in 2015 before taking it to Glasgow's West End festival for an intimate performance in the back-shop of a cafe, a perfect environment given that most of the play is set in the back-shop of a fast food shop. On the back of strong audience reviews, Lorenzo took it to EdFringe and on the back of strong critical reviews it was subsequently invited to Brighton Fringe, Carlisle Fringe, The Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival and the multi-cultural arts festival: Crossroads, which took place in Pisa in 2017.
Heavily inspired by his father's battle with psychotic depression, the play explores a fractured relationship between father and son. However, whilst navigating these themes, there's plenty of room for laughter as the comedy of the meeting of two cultures: Scottish and Italian, and the everyday goings-on in a fish and chip shop (the setting for the play) are playfully portrayed.
Lorenzo subsequently collaborated on the adaptation of 'Loving the Enemy' by Hilda De Felice and performed the piece at EdFringe in 2019 as well as delivering a short run of shows in Glasgow's Webster's Theatre. Meanwhile, Lorenzo also completed early drafts of Sticks and Stones, his second play, which he hopes to showcase in 2022.