29th Theatre Festival in Málaga
Regarding Málaga, we’ve already pointed out on other occasions (and if we haven’t, we’ll do so now) that it’s becoming an essential destination in the so called cultural tourism (that kind of tourism that the authentic traveller likes so much), disputing the spot of Andalucian capital to Sevilla, self absorbed in its traditions and spectacular artistic heritage. Proof of that is the 29th Theatre Festival in Málaga that, during a month in the middle of winter, from the 13th of January till the 11th of February, will come to the stage at the Teatro Cervantes and the Echegaray cinema with new contemporary productions, the best that has been written for these stages. Although some of the shows aren’t absolute premieres, that doesn’t change the artistic quality chosen for this festival.
There are titles for all tastes and the most advisable thing to do, of course, is to get a season ticket for the festival. You’ll have to forgive me for being impartial but I have to tell you about, for example, the monologue ‘Shakespeare’s Women’ by Rafael Álvarez ‘El Brujo’, which is regarding the text of the western guru critic Harold Bloom ‘The invention of the human’, an essential extract of the ‘Western Canon’. Regardless of the supposed divulgative work with which it’s publicised, we can’t leave aside the dramatic strength that the veteran actor can put on the essay of the American scholar, who considers Shakespeare the creator (in an artistic way) of everything human. On the topic of the the English bard, a new version of ‘Macbeth’ is made, a classic and still such a strong contemporary and present play that admits so many readings as productions have been made of it. Another play that’s not suitable for sensitive people is ‘No amanece en Génova’ (‘The sun doesn’t rise in Genoa’) by Trasto Teatro, a strong story about the terrible acts of the dictatorial regimes regardless of the ideology that you have. In the venue of the old Echegaray cinema, you can enjoy ‘André and Dorraine’, an avant-garde production of gestural theatre (close to modern performances) in which they use suggestive masks to give dramatic strength to the idea from the young theatre company Kulunka, the unquestionable winner of the 2011 Birmingham Be Festival edition. The most ludic proposal, designed for families as well even though it’s on a bit late (9pm) is the staging of the circus show ‘Banagan’.
But it’s not only a festival with strictly plays, because the organization has planned talks, conferences, workshops and activities parallel to the plays. In this sense, the main event of this immense banquet is, undoubtedly, the conference talk of Fernando Arrabal, the playwright, visual poet, artistic agitator and creator of Panic Theatre, a dramatic form that has its roots in surrealist European drama. Here’s the link with the complete official programme of this festival where the curious traveller or the local theatre fan can find all the practical information and more details on the different programmed events: http://www.teatrocervantes.com/public/uploads/file/descargas/86pro_FTM_12.pdf
Candela Vizcaíno
If, making the most of this event, you travel to this beautiful Mediterranean capital, don’t forget to book some of the excellent apartments in Malaga
Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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