Teatro Español y Naves del Español
Living Arts International Gathering Africa Moment'21 celebrates this year its 5th edition in the cities of Madrid and Barcelona, an unprecedented edition with a double itinerary, which presents proposals of great innovation and artistic quality by leading figures on the...
Ticket, 15€
3 shows, 12€ ticket
6 shows, 10€ ticket
In I Come to You River: Ophelia Fractured we re-tell the story of Ophelia, giving her the voice of modern young women who search for the meaning behind this ‘romantic’ figure. We cast the light on her, making it fracture and reveal what is normally hidden in the shadows. We observe how her fractured image creates a space for the new meanings to emerge, observing how the cracks on her pale marble-like skin fill up with stories and images which speak to us – about us. They speak about love and loneliness, about depression, about a man and a woman, about family, about the system which, whether we want it or not, we all create.
We give Ophelia back her voice so that she can express herself, not as we want to see her – all in white, submissive, floating like a great lily in her ecstatic death, but as a person destroyed in the power game which was never truly hers. A collateral damage one would say.
Maybe we will hear this voice coming from far, far away, asking if we agree to this quiet tragedy to continue or if now is the time for a change, for breaking the vicious circle, stopping the machine and ending the old order. Or maybe, following Müller’s vision in Hamletmachine, to wake up we need a return of Electra who, equipped with a butcher’s knife and poison will walk through our bedrooms. Hopefully, we can wake up before she does. Hopefully, it’s not too late to hear Ophelia’s voice, begging us for a better world.
The piece has been developed by a team led by Przemysław Błaszczak.
"Ofelia is dying again in front of our eyes. In a romantic and heroic way. Today Ophelia is Ukraine. Just behind the wall, in the next flat, her sister, Poland, is pierced by a sob, a groan and a cry for help coming from her neighborhood. Ofelia, a naive young woman, is a the victim of power game in her own country. We run to help our sister, but each attempt seems insufficient in the face of the infinite damage caused. In our own house we give her shelter and a moment of respite to her terrified children. We dedicate the scream and silence of our performance to the scream and silence of Bucha, Irpin and Mariupol, and to the scream of those tortured, raped and murdered; and the silence of the gag full of paralyzing fear, and the shot at the back of the neck. We do want to emphasize her calling for help sent out to the world by asking: how many Ofelias more are needed?"
Przemysław Błaszczak
NOTICE: show in English with subtitles in Spanish
Directed by: Przemysław Błaszczak
Performed by: Marie Walker, Anita Szymańska and Katarzyna Stankiewicz
Video Art: Adrian Jackowski
Lighting design: Dawid Ilczyszyn
A project by Zarzewie Foundation and the Grotowski Institute
In collaboration with: