The most epic fiction and the most discreet reality come face to face in a production based on the figure of a competitive gymnast. On stage, we observe how the gradual mythification of a body becomes a political tool.
You may have seen a football match or sports competition and been part of a cheering crowd which, for one moment, imagines that the prestige, value and values of the team's country or community depend on the efforts of one or various sportsmen or women. As with top-class gymnasts, the bodies of these sports people are no longer individual, but become the representation of a collective discourse, or even a political idea. The powers that be are capable of using the body as a tool, while ignoring the individuality it embodies. This is explained on stage by actor and performer Melcior Casals and professional athlete Enrique Navarro. They both have careers spanning fifteen years and they are taking part in a production that is based on the conflict between what you see and what you hear. An auditory collage of voices, sounds and music comments on, contradicts and amplifies theatrical actions, in a struggle for the control of the narrative, a combat between the body and the legend. Is there a more effective way of illustrating the body's mythification than by subjecting it to a discourse? Welcome to a documentary-fiction that promises to show you everything a body is capable of doing. Who knows if you will enjoy it or if real life will finally come to the fore. Myth or individual? Success or failure?
The production has been created by Pau Masaló Llorà, a director and dramatist who has also studied cinema and audiovisual communication and is also a graphic designer. He is the co-founder and director of the Ignífuga theatre company and their creations have been seen in both Spain and Europe, at festivals that include the Grec, Temporada Alta and Imaginarius in Portugal. You may have seen his production of Utopia in the Grec 2017 or some images of the pavilion he co-created, with which Catalonia won the prize for Best Exhibition at the prestigious Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space in 2019.
A 2020 Barcelona Grec Festival and Sala Hiroshima-production.
The De Grec a Grec programme is subject to the recommendations of the health authorities and the uncertainty of the current situation.
Original idea and direction: Pau Masaló Dramaturgy: Irena Visa and Pau Masaló Performers: Quique Navarro and Melcior Casals Space and costumes: Laila Rosato Lighting design: Andreu Fàbregas Sound design: Clara Aguilar Movement consultant: Gaston Core Production: Claudia Robert External view: Albert Pérez Hidalgo A production of: Grec Festival and Sala Hiroshima
