In English-language theatre, it is not unusual to stage three short works together, all touching on the same subject or having something in common. Barbados, etcétera is a play along the same lines. There are only two actors, a couple who face the audience on an empty stage. Are they actors or characters? There is no specific plot to follow, only words that describe situations, profile characters and suggest stories that gradually take shape in the performance's real stage: the minds of the audience. Everything centres around a couple and a place that could be real, but could also be imaginary: the island of Barbados that lends the show its name. The terrace and garden furniture section of an international commercial store, an upholsterer in love, a music video, a couple like every other couple you know... Based on these situations and characters, the three short stories speak about the couple and love, but also about isolation, indifference, forgetfulness... The show, full of easy-to-follow symbolism, is an example of a unique theatrical language, where we find elements of comedy which could almost be described as surreal, but within a context of great lyricism that alludes to the emotional world of the characters, extraordinary people who nevertheless end up revealing the universal nature of their feelings and suffering.
The show is staged by La_Abducción, a theatre company created and directed by Pablo Remón, which enjoys great success in Madrid, but had never previously presented any shows in Barcelona. The director and playwright, who also writes for cinema and television, was born in Madrid in 1977. He trained in the Community of Madrid Cinematography and Audiovisual School (ECAM), as well as in New York in 2009. A prize-winning film scriptwriter and director of short films (Circus, Todo un futuro juntos), he wrote the scripts for Fantastic World (2003), Casual Day (2008) and Five Square Metres (2011). In 2013, he created La_Abducción, in order to stage La abducción de Luis Guzmán, a theatrical debut that attracted a lot of attention. His second show, Muladar, which he wrote with his brother, Daniel Remón, won the Lope de Vega Theatre Award in 2014. The third production he wrote, in 2015, 40 años de paz (40 years of peace), was nominated for the Max Awards and was a finalist in the Best Breakthrough Author category. From there, shows such as El tratamiento (2018), Sueños y visiones de Rodrigo Rato (2019; written with the scriptwriter and playwright Roberto Martín), Doña Rosita anotada, which introduces us to the familiar world of the director, using Lorca-style language, and Barbados, etcétera, which premièred in 2020. Last April, he presented Los Farsantes at the Centro Dramático Nacional, a show about show business.
A La_Abducción and Teatro Kamikaze production
This play was created through a series of La_Abducción rehearsals, where in addition to the play's actors and actresses, Ana Alonso and Francisco Reyes took part.
Written and directed by: Pablo Remón, Performed by: Fernanda Orazi, Emilio Tomé, Assistant director: Raquel Alarcón, Lighting and sound: David Benito, Óscar G. Villegas, Produced by: Silvia Herreros de Tejada, Pablo Ramos Escola, Stage design and costumes: La_Abducción, Photography: Vanessa Rábade, Poster design: Dani Sanchis, Graphic design: Dani Sanchis, Patricia Portela Photography: Vicente A. Jiménez, Vanessa Rábade
