Dinner party

Dinner Party is the only play written by the Italian author and novelist, Pier Vittorio Tondelli, originally in 1985 for the Riccione-Ater Theatre Prize and published by Bompiani in 1994 after Tondelli's death. The play features a series of conversations between the cast of characters, who assemble for an apparent innocent evening dinner on July 11, 1982. This date is significant in that it was the day that Italy won the World Championship (FIFA World Cup) in Spain (Italy beat West Germany, 3-1). However, events take an odd turn, and this innocent dinner becomes a comical, unusual drama. As the soccer match takes place, another 'game' takes place on the stage between the various characters at the Oldofredi house, which Tondelli describes as "a cruel yet entertaining game of coups de théâtre, betrayals, revelations and ambiguity."