Anatomy of Fear is a visually stunning performance that explores the fear of failure using physical theatre, puppetry, video art, live music, and visual references of Francis Bacon's paintings. Actor and director Davide Giovanzana places himself on the stage with a human-sized puppet manipulated by two puppeteers and uses his personal life experience as the catalyst of the show. The performance explores how fear shapes individual personality as well as how it influences collective behavior.

“At the age of seven I was watching a documentary about Shirley Temple. I was looking at her life, from her debut in the film industry in her childhood to her adulthood. When the documentary was released, she was 50 years old. The fact of watching her aging, made me aware of my own death. I was paralyzed on the sofa and I was crying. My parents came to me and asked what was happening. “Nothing” I said. I could not tell them that I would die, and that I was afraid of it.”

The intention is not to explain fear or to condemn it, but to experience and display its presence. This powerful energy is constantly present in us and often it guides us. The simple admittance of fear, instead of denying it, is already a step towards accepting who we are and what we are made of.