Drusilla Foer's monologue: listening is the true revolutionary act

She comes down the stairs very elegant, with her white hair and a black dress worthy of a great diva of the Golden Age of Hollywood, takes the microphone and starts to sing. Then Amadeus stops her, reminding her that she is not in the competition, but is there to host the third evening of Sanremo 2022. She turns to him and says: "Look, Amedeo, I am a great performer, I want to sing, go away. What am I supposed to do? Co-host with her all night? But it's hell, you're crazy, you're making me be an assistant. If I'd known I'd have worn something more unhinged, I've even got a nice koala tattoo". And you immediately realize that Drusilla Foer is the real queen of the Ariston.

Ironic, full of verve and talent, beautiful, sophisticated, light but never frivolous. She is almost moved when Michele Bravi tells her that he is delighted to see her at the Festival and that her presence "really speaks of meritocracy". Later, responding to a joke by Iva Zanicchi who alludes to her having "other things" more than her height, she promptly and classily sets her straight: "I am cultured". The hours pass, between a Zorro version ("I thought of something eccentric, to reassure all those who were afraid of a man in disguise, so I dressed up") and another one showing off a super-chic pyjama outfit to offer a coffee to Amadeus and "midnight spaghetti" to the orchestra. 

The moment that alone is worth the more than five hours of live broadcasting, after all the singers have performed and fatigue grips even the most enthusiastic Sanremo fan. Drusilla returns to the stage and begins to speak:

"There are so many themes crowding my mind, but I don't want to crowd the audience. "Here's Drusilla talking about integration, fluidity, diversity", but "diversity" is a word I don't like.It creates distance, it has something comparative about it that I don't like.  I find that words are like lovers: when they no longer work, they have to be changed immediately. I looked for a term that could replace it and I found a very convincing one: uniqueness."

At the center of the stage, tight in her black suit, she is engaging, direct and always Drusilla, alter ego of the Florentine actor Gianluca Gori, continues:

"To understand and accept one's uniqueness, it is necessary to understand what it is made of, what we are made of, certainly the beautiful things, ambitions, values, beliefs, talents. And then there are the pains, the fears that have to be exorcised, the fragilities that have to be taken care of, it is not easy to get in touch with one's uniqueness, it is a crazy job. How do you keep all these things together? I have a way: you take all the things we live with by the hand and bring them up, the ugly ones and the beautiful ones."

Before singing, she concludes her monologue with the following words:

"I ask you to make sense of my presence here by attempting a revolutionary act, which is listening, to oneself and to others. Promise me that we will try, let us listen, let us welcome doubt, if only to be sure that our beliefs are not just conventions. Let our thoughts flow freely, without prejudice and shame".

Standing ovation.