«Che dolore terribile è l’amore», from Han Kang, directed by Daria Deflorian: Thursday, November 26 to Sunday, December 6, 2026

From November 26 to December 6, 2026, Teatro Valle (Via del Teatro Valle 21, 00186 Roma) hosts «Che dolore terribile è l'amore» (How Terrible Pain Is Love), a show by Daria Deflorian based on Han Kang's novel «Non dico addio» (We Do Not Part). There are ten performances, between Thursday, November 26 and Sunday, December 6.

Updated November 6, 2026.

The event

«Non dico addio» is the novel in which Han Kang, winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature, explores some of the central themes of her work. At its center is one of the most painful pages of South Korean history: the repression of the 1948 uprising on Jeju Island, which caused the massacre of thousands of civilians and left a wound still open in collective memory.

The consequences of that violence run through time and unite two friends, bound by a memory handed down from generation to generation that resists oblivion. With writing that proceeds through sensory, intimate immersions, Han Kang does not ask the reader to grasp the tragedy through numbers but to move through it slowly, following individual pain, the fragility of bodies and the persistence of absence.

Dramaturgy and direction are by Daria Deflorian, who performs with Maria Grazia Mandruzzato and Monica Piseddu; the dramaturg is Eric Vautrin. The running time is 80 minutes. The show is produced by INDEX, in co-production with Emilia Romagna Teatro ERT, Piccolo Teatro di Milano, Teatro di Roma, the Festival d'Avignon and théâtre Garonne in Toulouse, and is performed in Italian.

Where it takes place: Teatro Valle

Teatro Valle Franca Valeri is at Via del Teatro Valle 21, in the Sant'Eustachio district, and is run by the Fondazione Teatro di Roma. It reopened on October 16, 2026, after more than fifteen years without a regular season. See the pages on Teatro Valle and Memoria di ragazza.

Practical information

• Dates: November 26, 27, 28 and 29; December 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, 2026.
• Venue: Teatro Valle, Via del Teatro Valle 21, 00186 Roma.
• Language: Italian.
• Running time: 80 minutes.
• Ticket prices at Teatro Valle: orchestra armchairs 44 euros (reduced 35); boxes, stalls, first and second tier 35 euros (reduced 30); boxes on the third and fourth tier 26 euros (reduced 20).
• Purchase: online through the Teatro di Roma channel or at the Teatro Argentina box office (Largo di Torre Argentina 52).
• Getting there: use the ATAC route planner.

Frequently asked questions about «Che dolore terribile è l'amore», from Han Kang, directed by Daria Deflorian

Which book is the show based on?

Han Kang's «Non dico addio», winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature.

How long is it?

80 minutes.

Who performs?

Daria Deflorian, Maria Grazia Mandruzzato and Monica Piseddu.

Article written by the editorial team of Tour Leader Pro, contact them for Private/Corporate/V.I.P. Tours and Experiences.

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