LAS MÁS FUERTES

"The struggle for life and artistic creation is, more often than not, hard for just about everyone. But it must be recognised that for women this has been much more difficult, above all because of being regarded as inferior or reliant upon someone, a situation which has not been overcome without considerable effort". With these words, actor and director Eusebio Lázaro makes clear his intention to pay tribute to the achievements of women in this, his latest production, which receives its world premiere at this year's Festival de Otoño en primavera.

Las más fuertes incorporates two separate pieces in one work, performed by a pair of actresses who demonstrate a strength of character never demanded of their male counterparts. The first part, El ensayo (The Rehearsal), highlights the difficulties and uncertainties suffered by an actress during the rehearsals of a work (La más fuerte, or The Stronger) by Swedish playwright, August Strindberg. It is directed by the actress' partner, "the man with whom she is living but who makes their living together impossible", declares Lázaro. The production mixes lies, jealousy, creativity and passion to create a kind of "smoke and mirrors" effect and is performed by Yolanda Ulloa, an actress who has starred in leading roles at both the Centro Dramático Nacional and the Teatro Español (most recently in El balcón, or The Balcony, by Jean Genet).

The second part, El premio (The Award), portrays a veteran actress who receives an award at a film festival in honour of her long professional career. Her acceptance speech, washed down with a gin and tonic, is not noted for its political correctness and gradually reveals the bitterness of a lonely woman in a hostile society. Lázaro has relied on one of the greats of contemporary female Spanish theatre to bring this character of the silver screen to life in Ana Marzoa, star of classic works such as Un tranvía llamado deseo (A Streetcar Named Desire) and El concierto de San Ovidio. "They are two women who fight to save, or rather, to find their emotional well-being, devoting themselves to a job - that of an actress - which builds on precisely those emotions," concludes Lázaro.