Las cosas de mis abuelos

LAS COSAS DE MIS ABUELOS
A glimpse inside the Teatro Español by the theatre team

Following on from our previous exhibition, Alegría, which owes its existence to the ideas, words and hands of the entire team at the Teatro Español and the Naves del Español at Matadero Madrid, we thought it would be a good idea to continue providing our theatrical family with a voice so that we could talk about something we find particularly motivating. Influenced by the reality we have been immersed in for so long now, where we have had to witness the demise of loved ones, relatives and other people we know, generally the elderly, we wanted to remember them in a very specific way: with a smile.

All the members of this marvellous family at the Teatro Español and the Naves del Español at Matadero Madrid asked ourselves a question: If there was one object that belonged to our grandfathers and grandmothers that brings a smile to our faces when we remember it, what would that be? And we found the key when the next question occurred to us: Why don’t we look for objects that take us back to those happy moments we enjoyed with them?  We believe that what we’re going through affects many more people, anyone and everyone who wants to visit this exhibition, for example. So we got together to search for "things" whose simplicity might give rise to a beautiful memory in the form of a tribute and an act of gratitude. All the departments joined in with suggestions that warmed the cockles of our hearts. They came up with lots of emotional, endearing and ineffable moments… and we put them all down on paper - which was by no means an easy task because just ask yourself, how do you turn something that lives in your memory into an object?

Nevertheless, the meticulous and unequivocal commitment of the technical team of the Teatro Español and its Naves was just that:  To turn a memory into something tangible. Objects that bring a tender smile to our faces, a smile of nostalgia or a smile of joy for all the good times we’ve enjoyed with our elders.

This exhibition is part of the La Sénior project in which seniors are the protagonists and we dedicate this invented space to them, a space we have filled with our theatrical family’s wishes in the hope that it will encourage them to find their own or, simply, to enjoy themselves as they discover ours. Through this adventure, we have sparked a connection to something beautiful. May you find it as pleasurable as we do and may it bring a caress or a smile to your face.