David Espinosa / El Local E.C.
| Show not recommended for children under 12 | |
| Created, directed and performed by: | David Espinosa |
| Collaboration: | África Navarro |
| Stage and lighting design: | AiR / David Espinosa |
| Music and sound: | Santos Martínez / David Espinosa |
| Image and video: | Diego Dorado / David Espinosa |
| Producers: | El Local E.C., Festival Clásicos de Alcalá, C.A.E.T. Terrassa, with the support of the Government of Catalonia’s Department of Culture |
| Distribution and creative manager: | M.O.M. – El Vivero |
“Much Ado About Nothing is a post-dramatic metonymy in which the main topics and events that form the backbone of the complete works of Shakespeare are combined in a motley baroque tableau of fantastic figures, kitsch souvenirs and pop icons”.Artezblai
Is it possible to depict Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, The Tempest, Henry V, Richard III, As You Like It and A Midsummer Night's Dream in a single play? David Espinosa and his colleagues from Local Espacio de Creación have tried to do just that in the most arbitrary, contrived, artificial and hollow version of the complete works of William Shakespeare. A delirious visual piece that dwells on performance conventions through figures and objects full of a sense of adventure, romance, lust, war, tragedy and power. An ironic game of light and shadows with plenty of references to film, comics, art, and the history of theatre.
David Espinosa's work revolves around the idea of representation and of breaking the limits of the theatre, calling the stage into question and altering the equation of the elements that compose it. His personal work began by transcending the limits of body and speech, introducing technology as a performance tool, later replacing the physical presence of the actor with the use of the object.
Increasingly more interested in creating meaning through the relationship between form, light and sound, he has delved into the concept of showmanship by proposing devices that use precarious, low-tech methods to create sophisticated effects charged with theatricality. Toys for grown-ups –handmade and homemade– offer a unique experience in which the idle or recreational component is as valuable as the artistic discourse, following the punk motto “do it yourself” to introduce the spectator to contemporary creation and avoid the figure of the elite and inbred artist, and have been featured at many festivals and theatres on the international contemporary scene.
Why are the classics still being staged? Why the fear of the blank canvas? Is it a way to start with success already guaranteed? Why do we prefer to reminisce about the past instead of analysing the present and looking ahead to the future? Why does the audience want to hear the same story over and over again, just like a child? Is theatre an anachronistic act, the out-of-date stuff of romantics? And why don’t I find these works interesting? Is it the rebelliousness of youth? Or postmodernist irresponsibility? Or a snobbish air? What would I do if I came face to face with one of those authors? And the greatest of all? And several of his texts?