Albert Boadella will once again direct Joglars, the company he founded in 1962 with Carlota Soldevila and Anton Font. About to turn 80, the controversial director, playwright and theater actor will return to the head of the historic company to direct the next play, says Ramon Fontserè, the actor who has directed Joglars since Boadella left ten years and now presents ¡Que salga Aristophanes! at the Apolo theater in Barcelona.
The central character of the next play will be the king emeritus and, although the public might think of a satire in the purest style of the company, on this occasion they opt for a “Shakespearean play”. Fontserè considers that the life of Joan Charles I has enough elements to assemble a piece with all the necessary ingredients. “Since he was a child under the care of Franco and the incident with his brother, until the coup d’état saved in extremis, his passion for ladies and money, exile, now he has another daughter …, the emeritus gives a lot of play”, explains Fontserè to La Vanguardia. The actor confesses that he likes to take a break: “In the next play, I will be fine if I only act as an actor and have Boadella direct it. But it’s a one-off event, just for this time”, emphasizes Fontserè, who together with Pilar Sáenz and Dolors Tuneu are the company’s current partners.
But before Boadella’s punctual return to the head of the company, Joglars returns to Barcelona with ¡Que salga Aristófanes!, an approach to its origins as a formation with the central figure of the Greek comedian who is considered the father of comedy. The work is a denunciation of the infantilization of the world and a defense of freedom of expression. Ramon Fontserè directs and stars in this piece, which has five other performers: Pilar Sáenz, Dolors Tuneu, Xevi Vilà , Alberto Castrillo-Ferrer and Angelo Crotti. With this work, Joglars celebrates 60 years of history.
Let Aristophanes come out! is the story of a professor of classics victim of ridicule, who is dismissed and interned in a Psychocultural Reeducation Center due to the mental sequelae produced by the dismissal. His knowledge and admiration for the classical world makes him at times take on the character of Aristophanes, a model of freedom in the face of a society increasingly crammed with untouchable taboos. “The work is a consequence of this puritanism that has come from the United States”, refers Fontserè in the Barcelona presentation to the media.
Dolors Tuneu declares: “Aristophanes has been our reference. Through him the history of Greece is known and with ours you can know that of our country. We want to sing a song to artistic freedom, because everything is a minefield where you have to be very careful where you step. Censorship and especially self-censorship curtails freedom. We claim freedom of expression and the defense of those who think differently than you. And humor helps knock down certain ideas.”
The three current partners of Joglars note that in these 60 years they have not stopped and are “the oldest private company”. In this time, “there have been all kinds of moments, such as the demonstrations against Teledeum – remembers Fontserè-. Jaume Collell was stabbed in Madrid and we had to stop the show”. Among the celebrations of these six decades, Joglars has devised a project for La Cúpula de Pruit, his place of work and rehearsals, “to carry out residence projects and musical groups”. Fontserè remembers that Santi Arisa, among others, had rehearsed there.
Sáenz points out: “We rehearse there for four months every two years. It’s about fitting this in with the other projects.” But the story continues, because, as Fontserè admits: “I haven’t lost my desire to play and I like this life of doing theater and going on tour”. The director also had words of admiration for the work of the La Calòrica company, which represents The Birds, a piece that is also inspired by Aristophanes: “We need time to prepare our productions, that’s why I admire La Calòrica, which he works fast and they are geniusesâ€.
Let Aristophanes come out! is a production by Els Joglars co-produced with the Community of Madrid (Teatros del Canal) and the Generalitat de Catalunya, and can be seen at the Apolo del Paral·lel theater in Barcelona from May 3 to 7.
