The guts of a book are its pages, excluding the covers. But the guts are also the ins and outs of a trade, a profession, a guild. The play The Literary Agent delves precisely into the guts of publishing, into the secrets that move the threads of this powerful profession, which has its Latin American capital in Barcelona.
The coordinator of La Vanguardia’s Cultura/s supplement, Sergio Vila-Sanjuán (Barcelona, ??1957), premieres this story about two literary agents, one veteran and one young, at the Akadèmia theater in Barcelona (from April 10 to 28). they face two different visions for the same objective: to shine in the publishing world.
Vila-Sanjuán, a journalist who is an expert in publishing and a novelist recognized with the Nadal Prize for Was in the Air, made the move to theater with The Literary Agent, a piece that had dramatized readings in 2019, but now takes the stage thanks to Lina Lambert , who, “like Orson Welles,” the author jokes, takes on the role of director and protagonist, along with actresses Alicia González Laá and Lluïsa Mallol. Lambert set the condition of being able to make the changes she considered appropriate and Vila-Sanjuán recognizes the improvements that her suggestions have brought about.
The author explains how his work came about: “It is the result of my two dedications: journalism and literature. In 2003 I published Turning the page, an analysis of the publishing world, for which I interviewed 150 people. The book ended up having 800 pages, it had a lot of material and it is what emerges in this work.” With The Literary Agent, the author sets two objectives. One is to “pay tribute to the world of Barcelona books.” The other is to draw a character like that of his literary agent, which is “the summary of several literary agents.”
“As a journalist and novelist,” he continues, “I have always been interested in those people who are, as they say in English, bigger than life and who somehow form history. They are powerful and fearsome, they have everything, also admirers and enemies.”
Lambert points out: “Sergio had a moment of weakness in August, perhaps because it was very hot. But I also had it because I accepted. “I am a great reader from an amateur point of view and this is an extreme character in everything, for the good and the bad, and therefore they are loved and hated at the same time.”
Two literary agents coincide on stage: “There are no good or bad characters, but rather two ways of seeing the world and literature. One agent is in the twilight and the other is rising and, in some way, she wants to invade the position that the other is leaving,” Lambert declares. The third character is played by Lluïsa Mallol: “I play the baroness, owner of the building where the offices are. She is a fun character, who is situated between the two agents.”
Although the name of Carmen Balcells appears on the stage, Vila-Sanjuán does not mention it: “I won’t say names, but if you talk about Barcelona, ??there are always two or three names that come to mind. I have made a mixture of many experiences, without settling on any. The one I want to be remembered is María Sandoval, my character.”
He adds: “That the representations coincided with Sant Jordi was sought. “I am a big fan of this festival, a unique day in the world.” And between the dilemma of writing a novel or a play, he concludes: “The novel is very demanding, with a daily commitment of two or three years. Theater is very rewarding. I haven’t had a good time with the novels, I have written three and I have suffered. On the other hand, with the theater I have had a great time.”
