The French writer Mathias Enard lived in Barcelona for years and has written a number of novels that are still not well known in the city, although some, such as Carrer Robadors (Rue des voleurs in the original and Calle de los ladrones in Spanish), are largely set in Barcelona’s Raval neighbourhood. The story now comes to the stage of the Teatre Grec to open an edition of the festival that looks towards Africa, both the continent to the south and the part inside us. The protagonist of the story imagined by Enard (an Arabist, by the way, an expert on the Maghreb) is Lakjdar, a boy from Tangier. Thrown out of his home because of a family scandal, he joins a fundamentalist group, sees the Arab Spring erupt in neighbouring countries and flees the country on one of those boats that he saw crossing the straits at night heading for the Spanish mainland. He arrives in the Catalan capital and gets to know Barcelona’s Raval from the flat on Carrer de Robadors where he ends up. And in a city in crisis, shaken by the 15-M protests, he will find himself immersed in a world of marginality, living through hell only sweetened by a few affectionate encounters and the hope of meeting a student of Arabic from Barcelona, Judit, who he met in Tangier and with whom he is in love. A team of young actors and actresses, some of them of Arab origin, play the characters in a story that captures the spirit of the times, shedding light on the situation and motivations of migrants, and sends a message of both dark pessimism and luminous hope.
The playwrights Marc Artigau and Sergi Pompemayer, as well as the director of the production, Julio Manrique, an actor and theatre producer (he is part of La Brutal with David Selvas and Cristina Genebat) who was going to become a lawyer, but was abducted by the world of the stage at the Aula de Teatre of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra and, later, at the Institut del Teatre de Barcelona, have been in charge of turning the novel into stage material. Especially popular for his television career, he has worked as a theatre actor for directors ranging from Àlex Rigola to Oriol Broggi and Sergi Belbel, to name but a few, and he himself has had great success directing his own productions, including such acclaimed productions as American Buffalo (2010 Butaca Award for best direction) and El curiós incident del gos a mitjanit (2015 Butaca Award for best direction). He directed Ibsen’s The Wild Duck at the Teatre Lliure, which won him the 2017 Butaca Award and the 2020 Max Award, both for best direction. He was directed by Pau Miró in Una història real in 2019 and he returned to Chekhov and to directing in 2020, staging Three Sisters (although it was affected by the COVID -19 crisis).
We warn spectators that this show uses stroboscopic light.
A production from the Grec 2021 Festival de Barcelona and Bitò.
The 28 June show will include audio description, as well as support for the visually impaired.
Playwright: Mathias Enard Adaptation and dramaturgy: Julio Manrique, Sergi Pompermayer, Marc Artigau Director: Julio Manrique Performers: Moha Amazian, Guillem Balart, Elisabet Casanovas, Anna Castells, Ayoub El Hilali, Mohamed El Bouhali, Abdelatif Hwidar, Carles Martínez Dog: Ona (ASS DISCAN) Scenography: Alejandro Andújar Costumes design: Maria Armengol Lighting design: Jaume Ventura Sound space: Damien Bazin Audiovisual: Francesc Isern "6q" Characterization: Núria Llunell Assistant director: Xavi Ricart Scenography assistant: Maria Albadalejo Costumes assistant: Marta Pell Technical director: Ganecha Gil Stage manager: Irene Fernández "Nené" Sound: Roger Giménez Lighting: Enric Alarcón Video: Martín Elena Machinist: Andreu Mateu Set construction: Estructures Pascualin Executive producer: Macarena García Production management: Josep Domènech Production: Clàudia Flores Production assistant: Marta Colell Distribution and comunication: Bitò, La Tremenda Photography: Bitò/Paola Borghesi, David Ruano
