Drama. All Italians of a certain age remember the Vajont disaster: a giant wave raised by a landslide into a brand new hydroelectric reservoir in the Italian Alps jumped over the dam that was supposed to contain it and crushed five towns in less than seven minutes, killing over 2000 people. At the time, it was held to be a natural disaster... — Thomas Simpson, Foreword. Directed by Gabriele Vacis, Marco Paolini's immensely popular 1993 performance monologue explores what really lay behind the catastrophe. Winner of Italy's most prestigious theater prize, the Premio Ubu, THE STORY OF VALJONT is translated and edited by Thomas Simpson, with an essay by Franco Nasi and black-and-white photographs.