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Welcome to the 39th edition of the Festival de Otoño of the Region of Madrid
Last year we celebrated an exciting and unforgettable edition of the Autumn Festival. I think it was an example of the joint will -of audiences and creators- to stay together, to protect an art as fragile and powerful as theatre, even in the most adverse of circumstances. The audience and ticket sales figures point to the success of these efforts, but beyond the numbers, we shall never forget the shared emotion of having been able to celebrate, in all senses of the term, our Festival de Otoño.
One year later, we still face the consequences of the pandemic, we ask ourselves what is yet to come and how we may be together once again. Theatre will accompany us in our efforts to respond to these formidable and intimidating questions.
This edition, free from the restrictions on mobility, accentuates one of the hallmarks of the Festival: the presence of international shows. We will have companies from around ten different countries, with a notable participation from Latin American groups. We trust that the 2022 edition -hopefully the pandemic will have ended by then- will delve even further into this three-way direction: the decentralisation of the Festival, the presence of international shows (especially Ibero-American shows), and focus on the latest national creations. In this regard, I would like to thank councillor Marta Rivera de la Cruz for her trust, as well as the team of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports of the Regional Government of Madrid, and all the women and men who are a part of the Festival de Otoño team.
As I mentioned at the beginning, during this time we have been aware of the fragility and the strength of our bodies, of their mysteries and their eloquence, of how unique and universal each one of them is. It is now time to get back together and continue, even if we aren’t quite sure of our destination. Perhaps, like the birds flying over Madrid’s skies in Javier Campano’s photo which constitutes this year’s poster, we can still be together without quite knowing how. This fragile link is the heart of theatre.
In this edition of the Festival de Otoño we ask how and from where to build this shared future. In other words, who we are and who we can become when placing bodies next to each other: the body as the central sign of existence. We thus present Tríptico by Peeping Tom in collaboration with Teatros del Canal, Highlands by Mal Pelo (co-produced by the Festival), Larsen C. by Christos Papadopoulos, Cuerpo de baile by Pablo Messiez, Piano Works Debussy by Lisbeth Gruwez and Claire Chevallier, After All Springville by Miet Warlop in collaboration with La Casa Encendida, El hermoso misterio que nos une (co-produced by the Festival) by Jesús Rubio Gamo; Pinocchio by Babilonia Teatri, Criaturas del desorden by Elena Córdoba and Los inescapables Alpes by La Chachi. Pieces that explore the poetic, philosophical and aesthetic possibilities of physical theatre, dance and performance.
Faced with the possibility of disappearing, we have also felt the importance of legacies and connections. We ask ourselves what we must salvage at every moment from the inferno that is time. On this lively dialogue between modernity and tradition, we present Transverse Orientation by Dimitris Papaioannou (co-produced by the Festival), Terebrante by Angélica Liddell, Antigone in Molenbeek and Tiresias by Guy Cassiers, Imprenteros by Lorena Vega and her brothers and Fedeli d´amore by Theatre delle Albe.
Faced with the threats and challenges of the post-pandemic tomorrow (climate crisis, job insecurity, rise of totalitarian regimes, etc.), an inevitable question emerges: “Who will we be there where we are headed?” This question has birthed proposals such as Bros by Romeo Castellucci, Paraguay by Lucía Marciel and Paula Grinszpan, Fairfly by La Calòrica, Tú amarás by Bonobo, ¿Cómo hemos llegado hasta aquí? by Andrea Jiménez and Jinete Último Reino Frag by María Salgado and Fran Cabeza de Vaca.
Once again in this edition we have worked in continuous dialogue with other Festivals and institutions. In collaboration with Teatro de La Abadía, we present the best of ten years of the Be Festival, a programme consisting of the creations of Claudia Catarzi, Hannah de Meyer and Bertrand Lesca and Nasi Voutsas; in conjunction with the Andalusian Agency of Cultural Institutions we bring to Madrid some of the most outstanding examples of contemporary Andalusian creations: works by Alberto Cortés and Laura Morales. We are also grateful for the collaboration of the Italyn Institute of Culture, the French Institute, the Instituto Cervantes, and as in every edition, to all the participating theatres and spaces. We also celebrate UNESCO’s awarding World Heritage status to the Landscape of Light with the return of Pictura Fulgens —a meeting of poetry, painting and bodies— in one of its most noteworthy spaces: the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum.
This edition also brings to you two shows suitable for all audiences and especially for families: Geólogie d´une Fable by the Kahraba Collective (Lebanon) —six years and above— and Ma biche et mon lapin by Collectif AÏE AÏE AÏE (France), —nine years and above—, two little gems of the theatre of objects that will fascinate both young and adult audiences.
Finally, we would like to remember and pay homage to the director and cultural administrator Ariel Goldenberg, whose name will always be linked to this Festival. His dedication, his eagerness and his commitment during the fifteen years when he directed this Festival have been an essential part of the chain of women and men who have enabled the Festival to reach its fortieth edition next year. This edition of the Autumn Festival of the Region of Madrid is dedicated to his memory.
My deepest thanks to all.
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