The protagonist of the show could be the late Spanish singer and actress Raquel Meller. Or perhaps Janis Joplin, the performer Marina Abramovic, the choreographer Pina Bausch or even Rosalia herself. In any case, she is a 21st-century artist, the one whose name is always listed first in posters and advertisements. We will ‘revue’ her existence, reconstructed or perhaps deconstructed in several different versions of her corresponding to different generations: a talented young actress, a well-established musician, a retired dancer, an assistant director who dreams of being an actress, a great diva... In a series of different scenes, these versions tell us about art, transgression, show business. Because revue shows are a transgression. They portray on the stage human experiences that break society’s accepted moulds. It is the only way to deal with a system that absorbs dissent and gives the market the power to value or not to value cultural creations. It may be that we need a new system, and we may only be able to create it through transgression, the speciality of revue shows. Only an artist like the leading lady we are going to see on stage can invent a path of her own, challenging what is familiar and conventional from a place of pure impulsiveness.
With this spirit, the show uses the stage to bring back to life a world of impossible dreams, a world of smoke and things that are golden but not gold that takes the form of a theatre in ruins, a theatre that has been abandoned, sold, bought and reconquered by the city, a place from which to ask what revue shows are today and how their power of transgression can save us from barbarity.
This is the question being asked by the members of LAminimAL Teatre, a theatre company founded in 2010 at Sala Beckett that has so far produced shows including, among many others, El suïcidi de l’elefant hipotecat [The Suicide of the Mortgaged Elephant] (2012) and La supervivència de les lluernes [The Survival of the Skylights] (2014), both of them by Daniela de Vecchi, or Els Reis de Shakespeare escriuen el discurs de Phillipe the Sixth [Shakespeare’s Kings Write the Speech of Philip the Sixth] by Albert Pijuan, which was premiered at the 2019 Barcelona Indie Theatre Festival. They are now producing a show as part of the programme for the 2021 Teatre Arnau Itinerant project.
Arnau Itinerant is a communally run itinerant theatre company that seeks to create a grassroots popular stage culture. The company, which was created three years ago, has promoted a number of interdisciplinary projects including shows, street theatre, reflection days and art interventions. All these activities have one important thing in common: the vindication of culture through memory, the community and the performing arts.
A production by LAminimAL Teatre and Teatre Arnau
In cooperation with Departament de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya
Concept by: LAminimAL Teatre Written by: Jordi Casado i Olivas Director: Daniela De Vecchi Performed by: Alicia Perez-Cabrero, Andrea Marinel·lo, Eloi Benet, Carles Cruces Music composed by: Irina Prieto Music director: Neus Soler Arrangements: Neus Soler, Irina Prieto "El Despiece" Song: Marinel·lo/Prieto Musicians: Abril Candelas, Cidão Rodrigues, Lluïsa BarnadasChoreography: Alicia Perez-Cabrero Stage design and costumes: Lola Belles Lighting: Albert Pastor Consultancy and documentation: Neus Molina Assistant director: Jordi Casado i Olivas, Carles Cruces Technical head and sound design: Ruben Ruiz Sound: Jaume Edo Mixes: Loris Bernot Make up and stage design assistant: Filipa Campos Vocal coaching: Núria Dardinyà Graphic design: Carles Murillo Audiovisual: Marcelo Acunya Photography: Gerard Franquesa Video recording: Julià Rocha Press and social media: Rubén García, Marc Mampel - BARC Comunicació Communication: Alba Gómez - Apòstrof (Tech. Off. of Teatre Arnau) Premiere production: Gisela Juanet Production director: Aina Juanet Production assistance: Rebeca Sánchez
LAminimAL company: Eloi Benet, Cris Codina, Esperança Crespí, Carles Cruces, Daniela De Vecchi, Toni Figuera, Andrea Marinel·lo, Joan Martínez Vidal, Albert Pijuan i Lionna
Aknowledgements: Aina Araez Pérez, Clara Asin, Ignasi Bosch, Rodrigo Cuevas, Núria Dardinyà, Glories Cabareteres (Gloria Martínez, Marta Bernal), Gisela Juanet, Lluís Juanet, Larry’sccl, Merche Mar, Javier Marinel·lo, César Martínez, Ana María Montero, Nau Ivanow, Vidda Priego, La Prohibida, Escola de músics del Raval and JPC, Roc Ramoneda, Alberto Reguera, Gloria Ribera, Carles Salas, Anna Santamaria Garcia, Pau Segura, José Sanchis Sinisterra, Pau Segura, Sheila Valle, Viu el Teatre
