Review: "Duecentomila" by Kai Fig Taddei

Duecentomila by Kai Fig Taddei
Published April 2023 via Playwrights Canada Press
★★★★

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.