We read about the past to question the present. This is the idea of the dramatist and director Sílvia Ferrando, with this third production in a series of four. The first two were staged with the José y sus Hermanas Company, of which she was a founder member, working with them until 2019. They were Los bancos regalan sandwicheras y chorizos [Banks give away sandwich makers and chorizos/thieves] (2017), an encounter with the Franco regime and the legacy it left in younger generations, followed by Arma de construcción masiva [Weapons of Mass Construction] (2018), on education in all its forms. Now, the dramatist wonders how the burden of colonialism we carry with us affects our minds and our behaviour. Are we really aware of our country’s colonial past and what that involved? How do we judge it? How does it affect us? The author’s idea is that the group which responds to these questions on stage should not be homogeneous, but made up of various generations, using different languages and basing their answers on a variety of references. Because only those who explore the past can have the wherewithal to judge the present, to observe it from a certain distance.
Sílvia Ferrando has been a stage manager, actress, and dramatist since 1995. She has a PhD in Performing Arts from the UAB and she is a graduate in Dramaturgy and Direction from Barcelona Provincial Council’s Theatre Institute and in Mathematics from the UPC. She teaches acting, stage management, dramaturgy and scenography at the Theatre Institute, where she is also head of the Research and Innovation Area.
A 2021 Barcelona Grec Festival and Escenapart co-production.
Playwright and director: Sílvia Ferrando Performed by: Joan Arqué, Quim Ávila, Esmeralda Colette, Mia Esteve, Cristina Fuentes Scenography, costume design and lighting design: Roger Orra Video: Gaia Bautista Produced by: Xavier González Boix (Escenapart) Training student: Lorena Candia
