A quadriplegic woman and a man with cerebral palsy are two of the four performers in Cost of Living, by Martyna Majok. The other two are her ex-husband and the girl he hires, who take care of the two people with mobility limitations. But, despite these elements, it is not a drama. “It’s not a comedy either, but at times we can laugh,” Pau Roca qualifies, who is the one who proposed Pau Carrió to direct this play, recognized with the Pulitzer Prize. Today it opens in La Villarroel (until April 2).
The director explains what he felt when he read the piece by the American playwright: “It gave me the impact of a new, original voice, both from the human and dramaturgical point of view. There are four characters and with each one of them I would like to spend some time”. Carrió also points out that “it is not a thesis work, but rather presents us with the reality of two couples, one of them accidental.” Over the course of four months, we see how their lives change. “It has been interesting to rehearse her, because of what she proposes and how she proposes it”.
The director goes further and explains that “we hominids were not the strongest, but when they expelled us from the jungle, we learned to collaborate and help each other.” “That is still a lack – he observes – but since I also need people in my trade, I experience it in a very positive way”.
Roca, who is the ideologue of this proposal, in which he plays a brilliant university researcher with cerebral palsy, reasons: “It is quite a text Carrió and enough Sixto Paz”, referring to his company, which co-produces the production with La Villarroel . Roca insists on the spirit of the work: “There is no desire to make the thesis noticeable. It’s a bit imperfect, but it’s full of details and the characters are multifaceted.”
The cast is completed by Anna Sahun and Julio Manrique, who play the role of the woman who has become a tetraplegic as a result of an accident and her ex-husband; and Katrin Vankova, who is the caregiver hired by the university researcher.
In the preparation process, the company has documented itself with the Guttmann Institute. “We had to inform ourselves so that things did not escape us about what it means to care and be cared for,” explains Roca. These people need to find their place in the world and that highlights the importance of the network”. Sahun adds: “After all the talks with Guttmann, I have realized that the physical part is not what has cost me the most, but all the emotional iceberg that is hidden.”
Manrique, who has just directed the success that Amèrica has brought to the same room, is also dazzled by Majok’s voice: “She is a very unique author with a great sense of humor. The four characters in the play are good people and do what they can. Basically they are pretty people, not perfect, but very human”. For the actor, “there is a magic about what we do not control. We could say that the work is about faith, a non-religious faith, and also the miracle”.
Vankova, who comes from a Bulgarian family, compares the spirit of survival of immigration with that of the characters: “They are very creative to improve themselves, like my family was, without giving in to grief.” And Carrió concludes: “The conflict is the need for help and the costs of healthcare, hence the title. The conflict is served by this law of the jungle, where everything works as far as money goes. Perhaps that is why the author says that it is a sexy and ghostly piece”.
Catalan version, here
