“The history of anarchy in Spain has, in general, been hidden and inaccessible. Our first question when tackling this work was, how does this anarchic gesture survive today? Which bodies does it live it?”.

Pablo Fidalgo

Pablo Fidalgo (Vigo, 1984) writes that anarchy “is the silenced tale of a crevice in history”. It is also something that “disappeared from history, but remained within people. And it has reached as far as us”. Thus, in his latest production, the playwright and director wanted to address the history of anarchy that “out of the entire world, had its most important laboratory in Spain”.

Anarquismos (Por el medio de la habitación corre un río más claro) recounts the dream of a grown man that looks back on the house and the three housemates with whom he shared is first years of youth. With the awareness that memory and dreams are imperfect mechanisms, he knows that it is only in this undefined territory, crossed by lights and sounds from history, that his current identity will be displayed. Anarquismos is a piece about the absence, dreams, fear and silence that takes place in any group or family constellation. At the same time, it outlines the expectations of a generation that for the first time confront their errors and lack of common purpose. Structured as an epic poem and a group portrait, this production is inspired by the vision of the defeated, the marginalised, and of the instant decision makers where those that had something in common, ideas and utopias, stop having this.

The bodies in this piece have no history, name or identity. Since they came into the world they have been told that history should not be brought up, but they have come to dig it up from beginning to end. So, they enter a room and question each other, look at each other and they invent a language. The room is a small island in the middle of a wild river. The currents of history give shape to the bodies and hit them against the walls. If they knew enough of the history of the dissident and the anarchy, perhaps they could survive. But, if they knew enough they would not have locked themselves in, in this desperate attempt to live in another way. In this current of love and hate, the bodies are pushed in an impossible balance and only if they stay together, touching each other, getting to know each other, will they understand who they are, what they can repair, and what lives and relations they can still explore. What adventure is still possible in a world that is ending? Reviewing Ricardo Piglia’s phrase in Anarquismos “history is written by the winners, but danced by the losers”.

The Galician creator, artistic director of the Festival Escenas do Cambio, returns to the Autumn Festival after having displayed its powerful Habrás de ir a la guerra que empieza hoy, in 2016. This is a one-man, intimate piece that spoke of the Spanish republican exile through the story of his great uncle Giordano Lareo. This work was chosen as the Best Portuguese Theatre Performance in 2015 by Portuguese newspaper Público. Fidalgo’s work has been presented in countries such as Italy, France, Germany, Poland, Cuba, Guatemala, Mexico, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina and Chile. Moreover, as a poet, he was the deserved winner of the Injuve prize with the book La retirada (2012) La retirada (2012), and he has also received excellent reviews with La educación física (2010), Mis padres: Romeo y Julieta (2013) and Esto temía, esto deseaba (2017).

Practical information

• Sala Cuarta Pared
• 15, 16 and 17 November, 9:00 pm

Video