Una Emilie Kempin-Spiry, tutte Emilie

On the eve of the feminist strike, USI Law Institute and the Equal Opportunities Service will bring on Lugano campus a theatrical performance on the life of the first Swiss jurist Emilie Kempin-Spyri (1853-1901). The show will be held on Thursday, 13 June, at 8:30 pm in the Aula magna’s Foyer, staging a temporal and emotional journey undertaken by yesterday's Emilie and today's Emilies to address important gender issues. The performance is open to all interested parties and is free. 

Singular, universal. It is the story of Emilie Kempin-Spyri, the first woman jurist in Switzerland who, at the end of the nineteenth century, was forced to emigrate to the United States because she could not practice or teach law in her own country. For about an hour, this show-study will lead the audience through the physical, temporal and emotional journey undertaken by Emilie, and all the Emilies of yesterday and today. 

Although more than a century has passed, Professor Federica De Rossa Gisimundo, Director of the Institute of Law, chose to bring this show to USI because the story of Emilie Kempin-Spyri remains an important symbol of an ever-present struggle: "the life of Emilie leads us to think about the role of women in the civil, political, and working society, and their achievements. It also shines a light on the struggle women have to face to legitimise their aspirations in the private sphere. The performance also touches the emotional aspects of the difficult journey to find one’s place in society: an essential aspect of the debate on women's rights. An aspect that is particularly dear to the director of the show Sara Flaadt, who emphasises that "the life of the leading character blends with the life of the performers, discovering and uncovering the fragmentation of her soul”.

A cocktail reception will follow.

The show

• SUPERGIÙ TEATRO (www.supergiuteatro.com)
• with: Margherita Coldesina, Lucia Donadio, Jasmin Mattei, Margherita Saltamacchia
• Audio and lighting: Andrea Verdaglia
• Script and direction: Sara Flaadt
• Duration about 75’
• Suggested audience age 15 and older