Digging in the Dust.

Dialogue between man and woman by Saverio La Ruina

Abstract

Dust. Dialogue between Man and Woman is a play by playwright, actor, and director Saverio La Ruina. It forms the third part of a triptych—alongside the monologues Dissonorata and La Borto—exploring gender relations and violence against women. Unlike the earlier works, the ten dialogue scenes of Dust depict not physical but psychological and verbal abuse. Within the couple’s relationship, daily life is marked by subtle domination and wounding words—ephemeral as the dust evoked in the title—yet no less destructive. Like dust, these words envelop the woman, eroding her certainties and dismantling her identity.
This study argues that the gradual reduction of the romantic bond to “dust” is enacted through the exhausting repetition of the characters’ exchanges and a static, unchanging visual setting. By shifting from monologue to dialogue, La Ruina forces the audience to confront what they might prefer to avoid, exposing—without consolation or sublimation—the tragic core of the play in its stark, unsettling reality.