La cena dei cretini (The Dinner of Idiots)

On Saturday 28 November 2026, at 8:30 pm, the Teatro Comunale Laura Betti in Casalecchio di Reno (BO) presents The Dinner Game.

The Dinner Game by Francis Veber is one of the major successes of The Kitchen Company. Considered a masterpiece of contemporary French comedy, the play owes much of its strength to the character of François Pignon, a mild-mannered, naive and irresistibly funny figure created by Veber and also featured in several of his other well-known works.

In some respects, Pignon can be compared to the Italian comic character Ugo Fantozzi: an apparently fragile and unaware man who nevertheless manages to trigger hilarious and unpredictable situations. The comedy follows a group of friends from Parisian high society who organise a weekly “dinner for idiots”, inviting people they can mock during the evening. But when publisher Pierre Brochant chooses François Pignon as his guest, the whole mechanism is turned upside down: within just a few hours, Pignon throws Pierre’s life into chaos, setting off an escalating series of misunderstandings, gags and absurd situations.

The play’s theatrical success was also confirmed on the big screen: the film adaptation won six César Awards and attracted the interest of figures such as Steven Spielberg and Woody Allen. The strength of the show lies in its intelligent, never vulgar comedy, suitable for all audiences and capable of keeping them laughing from beginning to end through perfect comic timing, subtle cruelty and an impeccably constructed plot.