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Duecentomila
Estranged teenage cousins Eli and Kat have recently met online and bonded over their queer identities, but they have a limited understanding of each other’s very different realities. In Italy, soft-spoken Eli is trying to find a way to come out as trans to his conservative Roman Catholic family. In Canada, strong-headed Kat is desperate for connection to a culture and place she’s never known. Kat and her friend Hannah are the only ones who know that Eli is trans—not even his brother Matteo knows. And while her intentions are good, Kat’s decision to crowdfund a flight for Eli to attend Toronto Pride unknowingly outs him to the public, setting off a chain of events that leave the cousins and their loved ones reeling. Full of poetry, laughter, and big questions, this touching story paints a portrait of what it’s like for young people wanting to reconcile what they’ve inherited with what feels right.
144 pages, Paperback
Published April 4, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 7, 2024
Estranged family and religion and sexuality and gender and good intentions that aren't always enough: this was a quick read of a play, but it packs a punch. In Toronto, Kate is eager to connect with her Italian cousin—eager to make another queer connection, and eager to, perhaps, claim a side of her identity that she finds more exotic. In Florence, Eli is really just trying to get by—not the easiest thing when you suspect that your gender will result in your eventual consignment to hell.
This is probably a little exhausting to watch (thanks, Kate), but in a good way—Kate means well, but for all that Eli is worried about hell, well...for Kate it's more of a 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions' sort of thing. The choice to write this as a play is interesting, though, because I can just as easily imagine it as a young adult novel, what with its themes of growing up and coming out and messing up.
This is probably a little exhausting to watch (thanks, Kate), but in a good way—Kate means well, but for all that Eli is worried about hell, well...for Kate it's more of a 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions' sort of thing. The choice to write this as a play is interesting, though, because I can just as easily imagine it as a young adult novel, what with its themes of growing up and coming out and messing up.
May 28, 2023
Thanks to Playwrights Canada Press for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review!
Duecentomila is such an astounding play! Filled with realistic teen characters and a whole lot of laughs and heart, this is a play you don't want to miss!
Read the full review on my blog!
Duecentomila is such an astounding play! Filled with realistic teen characters and a whole lot of laughs and heart, this is a play you don't want to miss!
Read the full review on my blog!
January 16, 2023
As with all dramas I read, I know I lose something essential by just reading the text as opposed to watching on stage. And this is one play I want to witness because of the sheer teen angst of it all.
There's a consensus in some communities I am a part of, that teen narratives are done (thanks to us aging, hah), and that most people would rather read/watch about people in their mid-20s having a crisis. As I've said in past book reviews, I don't want to be reminded of my current time, so if it means reading about teenagers and their simplistic world view whilst they feel no one understands them? Sign me up.
...okay, not really, but kai fig taddei's work made me think this way for however long it took me to read this play. So I suppose to add more nuance to my prior statement, I want these narratives only insofar as a queer person (and if they are going through second puberty, the better) tells the story. I want a degree of re-living. To witness things going wrong in a different way---but just as painful, if not more---this time.
Each character in this play has volatility inside them and kai reveals the crux of their short fuse in typical teenage ways: in outbursts, coaxed out after a sulk, that kind of thing. The play is dynamic---and I haven't even watched it---so one can imagine how much more alive the play would be if witnessed on stage.
This isn't a contest but of the four, my favourite character is Kat. Is it because she reminds me of my baby Rachel Berry? On account of her two dads, her bisexuality, and how she comes in, guns blazing with good intentions, but only to end up making a mess of things? Perhaps. But I enjoy the whirlwind of a character that she is, the skim of the conflict in her home life, and her victim complex. I love her layers.
Also: Salini Perera (the artist for the book's cover), was the one who roped me into reading this text.
There's a consensus in some communities I am a part of, that teen narratives are done (thanks to us aging, hah), and that most people would rather read/watch about people in their mid-20s having a crisis. As I've said in past book reviews, I don't want to be reminded of my current time, so if it means reading about teenagers and their simplistic world view whilst they feel no one understands them? Sign me up.
...okay, not really, but kai fig taddei's work made me think this way for however long it took me to read this play. So I suppose to add more nuance to my prior statement, I want these narratives only insofar as a queer person (and if they are going through second puberty, the better) tells the story. I want a degree of re-living. To witness things going wrong in a different way---but just as painful, if not more---this time.
Each character in this play has volatility inside them and kai reveals the crux of their short fuse in typical teenage ways: in outbursts, coaxed out after a sulk, that kind of thing. The play is dynamic---and I haven't even watched it---so one can imagine how much more alive the play would be if witnessed on stage.
This isn't a contest but of the four, my favourite character is Kat. Is it because she reminds me of my baby Rachel Berry? On account of her two dads, her bisexuality, and how she comes in, guns blazing with good intentions, but only to end up making a mess of things? Perhaps. But I enjoy the whirlwind of a character that she is, the skim of the conflict in her home life, and her victim complex. I love her layers.
Also: Salini Perera (the artist for the book's cover), was the one who roped me into reading this text.
July 27, 2023
Without giving anything away, Duecentomila is... wonderful! It reads with rhythm, dialogues like a stream of consciousness, and riffs off moments in time. It opens in Italian (no translation!), catching the reader off guard and fully immersing us in the world of the delightful characters of this gem of a play. Duecentomila is written with wit, without pretense, and in the spirit of adventure and play. Kay Fig Taddei's shiny new voice shows bright and true in the lovely heartfelt script. I look forward to reading more of their writing. Perhaps, one day, a memoir? I believe this would suit Taddei to a T!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews