Alba Sarraute is one of the best-known circus artists in Spain. A few years ago, she started thinking about how to interpret the most famous creations of contemporary theatre – Shakespeare’s portraits of human passion and vice – from a female perspective, using the techniques of modern clowning. Thus was born Desdèmona, a new interpretation of the Bard’s Othello. Now Sarraute has turned her attention to Macbeth, a portrait of overweening ambition and one of Shakespeare’s darkest plays. From her position as a woman and a clown, she uses the original dramatic narrative to transform the story into something else, something we could never have imagined. The main character is Unnameable, who gives the show its title. She is a woman suffering from madness and depression, and the wife of a constantly self-doubting Macbeth. The show uses visual elements and multidisciplinary forms of expression to address issues such as violence, mental health and migration. All with the fantastic and surreal quality of a dream. Here, Lady Macbeth and her husband are symbolic rather than historical or literary figures, inhabiting not a ‘Scottish tragedy’ as in the original, but a ‘Mediterranean tragedy’ very much linked to the dramatic reality of migration. This is why the NGO Open Arms has committed itself to this theatrical project, which aims to make a significant visual and sensory impact on the audience, as well as on the local cultural and artistic scene.
Co-produced by Grec 2024 Festival de Barcelona and Camaleònica Produccions
Directed by: Alba Sarraute Pons. Performed by: Tomeu Amer, Griselda Juncà, Anna Pascual, Adrià Montaña, Wanja Kahlert, Berta Pascual, Laura Martí, Alba Sarraute. Choreography: Berta Pascual. Outside perspective: Martí Soler, Gonzalo Alarcón. Wardrobe: Rosa Solé. Set design: Montse Pons. Musical directors: Roc Sala. Music: Roc Sala, Laura Martí, Marçal Ayats, Jorge Sarraute. Lighting: Benjamin Eugène, Joaquim Aragó. Sound space: Ton Mentruit. Coordination: Joaquim Aragó. Production: Pere Vilarrubla. Photography: Sílvia Poch
