PUTTANA was one of the most talked‑about international productions at this year’s Fringe: intimate, unsettling, and formally daring. It confronts prejudice, judgement, sex work, and the quiet violence of how society enters other people’s lives. Ahead of its wider international run, Counter Culture presents this in‑depth conversation with director Mirko Corradini, exploring the dramaturgy, ethics, sound design and collaborative process behind the production.
What first compelled you to create PUTTANA, a piece that confronts sex work, judgement, violence, and shared responsibility?
“PUTTANA began above all with a question about prejudice.”
He describes reading an article about a porn performer refused housing because of her job, and the question that stayed with him: why do we feel entitled to judge someone whose choices do not harm us? “I was not interested in saying that prostitution is right or wrong. I wanted to stop one step earlier.”
The show uses fragmentation rather than linear storytelling. What dramaturgical purpose does that structure serve?
“Our thoughts are never completely linear… In PUTTANA, different people speak… sometimes they seem to be in dialogue but are not really listening.”
Corradini explains that the structure mirrors the spectator’s slowly forming judgement rather than a traditional plot.
How did you approach directing a one‑woman performance that requires the actor to embody multiple characters around Laura?
“The main rule was to create together.” He recounts a rehearsal mistake that became a breakthrough, revealing how characters emerged collaboratively through experimentation
Why binaural audio and headphones?
“I realised that the real strength of the piece was that proximity… The headphones were the answer.”
The immersive sound design recreates intimacy even in larger spaces.
How do sound, proximity and moral tension interact?
“Sound does not accompany the performance. It is part of the direction.” Much of the audio is “dirty, unsettling sound” that becomes music.
Why was Beatrice Elena Festi chosen as your collaborator?
“I felt an artistic connection… elegance and precision in the transitions.”
Her subtle physical shifts made her ideal for a piece where technology completes the transformation.
How much emerged from her interpretation?
“A generous actor can create a new possibility simply through a mistake, a breath, a posture.”
How can theatre explore judgement and violence ethically?
“I can bring someone into a very intense situation as long as I continue to respect them.” He avoids literal nudity or violence to keep focus on meaning, not shock.
How did you see your responsibilities when dealing with emotional risk?
“Artistic availability must never become coercion.”
What did you hope Fringe audiences would confront?
“I wanted the spectator to ask themselves: Do I judge? Do I have prejudices?”
What surprised you in Edinburgh?
“Can this show speak to… someone from a culture completely different from ours? Edinburgh gave me an answer. Yes.”
What was the impact of the SoHo Playhouse Encore Series selection
“The New York selection gave me the confidence that PUTTANA could find an international audience precisely without giving up its willingness to take risks.”
How does PUTTANA relate to your wider work?
“I am interested in investigating what we do not say… the shadows we carry inside ourselves.”
What did this production teach you?
“That I enjoy myself more when I experiment.”
Where next?
“I can fall in love with a piece for a single actress… but also with a much larger project.”
What should spectators carry with them?
“Do I judge? Do I have prejudices? Will I look at someone differently tomorrow?”
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