Il Margine is an evolving narrative about mental health. A narrative because Kelly Ardens, its chaotic storyteller, draws from her own life and experiences as a person with borderline personality functioning. It’s evolving because it feeds on emotions and contradictions, raising questions that might not have answers but linger in the air, sometimes light and fleeting, sometimes as heavy as a stone.
Il Margine is the world of the protagonist and offers a new narrative for those who live not with a “disorder” or “suffering,” but as neurodivergent individuals. It’s the world of “crazy” people, far removed from what is considered “normal.”
The audience is invited to watch and listen, immersing themselves in the performer’s daily life: her epic acts of pain, the small and large gestures that bring her comfort, and her multifaceted art—tarot cards, colored pencils, cigarettes, false eyelashes, and the secrets hidden in her Hello Kitty bag.
By dedicating her favorite songs, reciting from the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,” and baring her soul with the truths of her spiritual journey, Kelly envisions Il Margine as an open construction site where everything is still possible. Or, as bell hooks would say: “A place capable of offering us the possibility of a radical perspective from which to look, imagine alternatives, and create new worlds… A space of resistance. A space I have chosen.”
