BarcelonaPlaywright Joan Iago (Barcelona, 1987), one of the founders of La Calòrica, is reviving two works he wrote around 2017. “I actually thought they were lost,” he says. From February 29 to March 31 the National Theater of Catalonia shows Short interviews with exceptional women, directed by Monica Bofill and starring Montsa Alcañez, Monica Almiral, Ana Paracina, Elisabet Casanovas, Miranda Gaz and Yolanda Cikara. At the end of the season, Sala FlyHard will be shown A brief introduction to the Western language, under the supervision of Llàtzer Garcia. For Yago, it will also be a year of re-releases, especially La Calòrica: l'Espai Texas offerings Firefly Until April 28; From April 19 to May 26 it can be seen A Brief History of Spanish Railways To the Teatro María Guerrero in Madrid, that is Congress is not workingHe will return at Christmas at the Poliorama Theater.
Will it be a good year for Guan Yaju?
– I did not imagine that three of my works bearing this word would eventually be published Brief To the address! It is a coincidence, because at that time these texts were kept in a drawer. A French company appeared for the first time Short interviews with exceptional women In Paris and Montreal, but never in Catalonia. I think it will be a good year, although the connection with texts written in the past always creates difficulties.
What do you mean?
Negotiating with your past self is ridiculous. You reread the texts and think you would make different decisions now. But you have to respect yourself when you're seven years old. I tried to be brave and not leak almost anything.
Arola editors gathered at One folder Some texts I wrote between 2010 and 2021. Do you feel that you have begun to have a cohesive literary stock?
– I have a very uncomfortable relationship with my business. It's hard for me to re-read it, because it looks bad and is full of spelling mistakes. I consider myself not much of a writer. I don't think my texts have value as textual material. I'm writing for release and that's enough. That's why reviews always scare me a little.
“My generation is tired of being the emerging generation,” you said in 2015. In an interview with ARA. Has the situation changed?
– Yes Yes. We are no longer emerging. I'm better at work than I was ten years ago. But there are many people my age who are not fortunate or lucky enough to be able to make a living from theatre. Also, just because we're not feeling great doesn't necessarily mean we're at the point where we should be. It is still very rare for an author under 40 to premiere a work in major theatres. We've built the cultural system in such a way that a premiere at a public theater is a prize for getting somewhere, or for enduring ten years of leaving your skin in alternative theatres. It should be exactly the opposite. Public theaters should serve as laboratories for testing.
These recent years Calories It has established itself as one of the strongest Catalan theater companies.
-We are a bit sensitive when we say that we are an established company. Yes, we have evolved in the sense that we no longer have to take money out of our pockets to rent a van for a polo. But we didn't want to have a structure that was too big or too complex. At this point, maybe we should become a production company and have our own theater. But do we really want that? Do we need to panic? Maybe we can keep doing one show a year. We spend the day making work that questions the idea of growth… well, we question the idea of growth internally!
Published by Majorcan music group Fades the song It never snows in the city, which has the same title as the TV series I created with Joan Fullana for IB3. Can we say that you are a reference for younger generations?
-It's always hard to believe. It's a bit difficult to understand what it means to young artists trying to create a place for themselves. But it's nice that Fades did this. It makes us feel super grateful.
Premieres on February 29 Short interviews with exceptional women In transnational corporations. Is the title of the work an homage to Short interviews with disgusting men (1999) by David Foster Wallace?
– Yes! When I decided to write an interview script, I immediately thought of this book. It saddens me a bit to think that perhaps a Foster Wallace fan will come to see the play thinking they will find the author there. But yes, there is the world of Foster Wallace indirectly: hyper-realism, imitation, characters that are both close and very strange at the same time.
Do you think that the five heroes are victims of the neoliberal system?
– They are healthy daughters of neoliberalism. The show represents a horror community, but it also represents a horror community. Below, they are logical characters. Extraordinary but logical. The world we live in is full of cruelty, conflict, and obsessions that generate fear. Fears generate reactions. I don't think it's unreasonable for a character to want to extend a person's lifespan into immortality. Maybe I, as an individual, am not what I want. But it makes sense that this woman would fear loss and wish that her loved ones would remain alive forever. It's a logical response to real fear, isn't it?
In fact, you are inspired by some personalities with first and last names: Valeria Lukyanova, Michelle Anne Fiore, Pina Rothblatt, Stevonkne Wolsht, Paul Carasson…
-And also in characters from the American TV show My strange addiction.Some characters generate unexpected rhymes with current events. You can see Ana Paracina's character and think it's Isabel Diaz Ayuso. But that's not the case, because when I wrote the script I didn't know who Ayuso was. Or you can see Elizabeth Casanovas' character and think…Influencer Amadeo Lados, who advocates the idea of physical perfection. They are serendipitous connections, but at the same time they are very natural. In the end, everything is cyclical: in 2016 an idea appears, in 2020 it is neglected, and in 2024 it is talked about again.
With this job, you look very much towards the United States.
– Yes, because I have access to these characters through very Yankee television formats. The show embraces culture the current. Therefore, the phone. Therefore, the United States.
How do you deal with characters who are far from you intellectually?
-I face it from an uncomfortable fascination. An obsessive fascination that simmers a little. I'm interested in what they have to say, but at the same time I'm very lazy. Then, in a way, what I do in each of the interviews in the play is to bring out the little fascist I have inside of me and relate to it. The characters are downright challenging for me, to the point where I scream: “No, no, enough, I don’t want this.” Why don't I want that? What does this character do to me? Why don't I let her live her life the way she wants?
Should we be able to represent all types of characters?
– It is clear that it is possible, nothing is forbidden. But if you make a technical suggestion, you should know that everyone has the right to respond to you. It is possible that someone will feel insulted and decide to respond forcefully. You can say whatever you want, and I have every right to say that what you say seems ridiculous to me. The work does not have a thesis and can therefore contain many readings. Maybe some people will take away from what I was really trying to say. It's a risk I'm taking.
Are you afraid that viewers will think you share the characters' ideas?
– Yes. Like many people who make comedy, we're concerned that our stories don't hurt anyone or reinforce oppressive fantasies. As a playwright, I have a responsibility to empower imaginations that make people's lives better. But at the same time this can be very paralyzing. You can't always doubt. Some viewers thought that what he said was wrong Congress is not workingBut what can we do about it? Our intention was not to create conflict, but of course, everyone has their own standards and values.
The play's cast is exclusively female. Is it an intentional decision?
-Honestly, it's an arbitrary decision. This may not be an answer that satisfies a lot of people, but I simply became obsessed with a character who was a woman. Then by another, who was also a woman. Since Foster Wallace's book was all men, I thought of doing the opposite. I thought: “Would it sound like I want to generate a discourse about femininity?” But how many times has the general masculine form, which includes both male and female characters, been spoken and ended up talking about humanity in general? Why can't we do the same? I know the title generates misunderstanding, but I love it. I decided to accept this misunderstanding and see what happens.
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