2023-12-05 19:00:46
«Young actors today are much better and arrive amazingly prepared and strong. There is learning like there was not when I needed it, and all the young people of my generation have been surpassed: perhaps it is simply that life improves us. These are the words of Nuria Espert, a living legend of the theater who at 88 years old returns to the stage.
The actress heads the cast of ‘La isla del aire’, a piece written by Alejandro Palomas that premieres at the Teatro Español in Madrid under the direction of Mario Gas, and which will not be, as many believed, her farewell to the stage.
Espert referred to the interpretation of her words at the premiere of the play in Barcelona last March as a ‘misunderstanding’, where there was talk of a possible retirement after this role, something that the actress has once again denied.
«I said that when this function ends its journey I will not run after another text. Is it understood here that I am going to retire or am I at death’s door? », joked Nuria Espert who feels «protected and safe» at this moment in her long career.
The drama is “a very beautiful work, of poetic realism, which deals with the pain and scars that so often mark family relationships,” according to its director. “A theater where what is not said is sometimes more important than what is said,” adds Marios Gas. “It is a sensitive, emotional text that is not ashamed to take the funny part that every tragedy presents,” agrees its protagonist.
Accompanying Espert in the cast are Vicky Peña, Teresa Vallicrosa, Candela Serrat and Claudia Benito. It is a production of the Barcelona Teatro Romea, where Nuria Espert made her debut at the age of 12, and before arriving in Madrid she has been on tour throughout Spain. It is a dramatic rewriting of the first part of Alejandro Palomas’ trilogy ‘The time that unites us’ that tells a story in a feminine key about grief, family and secrets. “It is a deep look at a grieving family group in which each of the women carries a very strong tragedy,” Mario Gas explained in the presentation.
Gas defines the piece as “a journey to recover faith in life” through the conversations between five women who make up a family “full of conflicts.” Located in Menorca, Espert is old Mencía, the matriarch of a family that embarks on a boat trip to the Isla del Aire. A story has something of its own regarding Palomas – “every author ends up talking about his immediate environment” – with whom Gas admits having had a good relationship.
“He is a sensitive and intelligent person, his text has been respected, except for a deletion of the male characters, which he considered anecdotal, so as not to hinder the dramaturgy, even though they are named without being present,” says Gas. From that point on, Palomas told me ‘the text is yours’ and has respected our work. In his case, the saying that ‘the best author is the dead author’ does not hold true,” the director of the play ironically stated.
‘La isla del aire’ is a long-term project, as Josep María Pou, artistic director of the Teatro Romea, said. He explained how in 2008 Palomas already arrived with the adaptation of his novel for release, and he opted for the project. Then the right cast was not found and has now been assembled. “In the theater you have to know how to be patient and wait, because it has a reward and it is demonstrated here,” said Pou.
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