She can’t get enough of London and London can’t get enough of her! After success at Camden Fringe, Clapham Fringe and Canal Cafe, internationally acclaimed, Italian cabaret artist Anita Luna returns this month with THE DIVA. In the first of two interviews, she took a break to tell us more about the award-winning one-woman show.
Anita Luna The Diva
For its latest London season, Anita Luna THE DIVA runs at London’s Drayton Arms Theatre for three performances only from 17 to 19 March 2022.
Watch the intriguing, sensual and funny metamorphosis of the brave and authentic Anita Luna THE DIVA: her birth, her tomboy years and hilarious discovery of her sexuality, the Young DIVA discovering the secret of being divine, her Acme enjoying her superpowers and the inevitable Decline.
A one-woman show that is a unique mix of theatre, cabaret, clown and dramedy.
Anita Luna THE DIVA won the Judges’ Choice Award at Galway Fringe 2019 and Best Online Live Performance at Paris Fringe 2020. It is performed by Anita Giovannini, co-written and co-directed by Giovannini and Jango Edwards, and produced by Giovannini.
Luna, it’s great to see you in London again.
Thanks for having me. For me, it’s always a pleasure being here. I always feel so welcomed.
Tell me, is your surname Giovanni or Giovannini?
I’m Italian so it’s Giovannini, but abroad, especially in the US, they always call me Giovanni. I really love it as it’s a man’s name in Italian. I feel perfectly balanced in my feminine and masculine aspects so Anita Giovanni could be perfect. My star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame could be Anita Giovanni! Why not?
In your one-woman show Anita Luna THE DIVA, you’re like a volcano of energy and you do so many things in a little more than an hour. You sing, you act. You are a mentalist and an acrobat. You interact a lot with the audience. What do you like doing the most?
Do I really need to choose? Okay, if I had to choose something, it’d definitely be the interaction with the audience. That’s what really matters to me. That’s what really makes the show unique.
Anita Luna THE DIVA
Did you create Anita Luna or were you possessed by THE DIVA?
Well, Anita Luna and I are a de-facto couple. We are King and Queen. Accept it.
Who’s who?
That’s a secret between me and her…keep guessing!
In the show, you’re naked physically and emotionally in front of the audience. What’s more difficult to do: sharing your body or your soul?
For me, there is no difference. My body and my soul are totally connected, we are one. On stage and off, I feel free to express myself. I’m not ashamed of my body or my feelings. I’m happy and proud of my core essence.
You make being a tomboy in your childhood an amusing part of the show. Do people still mistake you for a boy now?
Since I turned 40, no. And actually, I’m a little upset because of that! But before, absolutely, yes! When I was 33 and rehearsing in a park, I made an entrance walking in on my hands. A group of children was watching and they exclaimed “Look, a boy with big tits!!”. It gave me a flashback to my childhood when it used to happen all the time!
Anita Luna THE DIVA
We see some videos of you doing acrobatics in your show. Do you still do it at your age?
Watch me perform and be astonished!
THE DIVA always looks stunning. What is her beauty regime?
Avocado. THE DIVA can’t live without avocado; THE DIVA can’t sleep without her avocado nut pillow. She can’t start her day without her avocado transfusion.
You love body art and have many tattoos…
That’s right. It makes me absolutely unique and unusual. I’m the first rock star tattooed DIVA in theatre.
You often talk about meditation, yoga and tai-chi as life-changing. Why?
It helps me to go deeper to find my real self. As an artist, you have a responsibility. I feel we are all here to share and to make a difference. Spreading joy and laughter is my talent. Talent is a responsibility; not accepting and not sharing it will only hurt you and the world. I’m here to do my part, to encourage myself and others.
