Abstract

The paper aims to provide a concise overview of the presence of fire and its metaphors in the language of theater and performing arts: a persistent and very fruitful relationship from many points of view. We started from the primitive and natural spectacle of the flame and its resonance within the Jewish and Christian tradition, then we moved on to the use of fire by man in theatrical terms. In this perspective were examined contexts of festive an spectacular celebrations, sacred and profane, in the Middle Age and Renaissance, with particular attention to the «fires of St. John» and to the use of the flame in the pyrotechnics art. The final part of the essay is instead focused on the metaphor of fire and flame to describe the actor's art (and in particular the art of the actress) as summary of technique and passion, with examples like Isabella Andreini, Eleonora Duse and Loie Füller.