Àngels Gonyalons, splendid; and Sagarra, one of the greatest

A little over thirty years have passed since the powerful, caustic and tense proposal that Ariel Garcia Valdès directed of The crown of thorns at the Romea Theatre on December 22, 1994. Many years for a work that, without being one of Josep Maria de Sagarra's best known, is undoubtedly one of his most profound and tragic, and which confirms the linguistic, poetic and dramatic quality of this dramatic poem written in 1930 and which now, in the TNC's standing audience.

The crown of thorns It falls within the category of dramatic poems in which Sagarra explores the comedy of manners, which in this case becomes a tragedy without deaths but with shattered illusions. Sagarra paints a portrait of the de facto powers of Solsona at the end of the 18th century, and especially of the role of women subjected to the patriarchal imperatives that persisted for many years in our country. In a way, he presents the confrontation between the most conservative customs of the time, represented by the Lord of Bellpuig and the rest of the supposed aristocrats, and Eudald's desire for freedom, which comes from Revolutionary France.

Albertí's approach is clean, straightforward, more concerned with ensuring that the words reach the viewer with all their intensity and clarity than with delving into the inner turmoil experienced by the characters. The director achieves the goal of conveying the poet's verse without embellishment, allowing us to appreciate its richness. And it achieves this with a cast in top form. A cast led by the splendid Àngels Gonyalons, who creates a maid named Marta, undoubtedly one of the best female characters on par with the protagonists ofThe Marina Café, The Hostal de la Gloria either GalateaShe is the driving force of the story, the hidden piece that holds everything together. The best monologues are hers; hers is the resilience of a woman who explodes at the end with a crown of thorns "that breathes fire."

Very convincing is the young Jan D. Casablancas's Eudald, although Albertí keeps him surprisingly immobile in the final scene. Abel Folk aptly illustrates the boastfulness and machismo of the Lord of Bellpuig. Magnificent (and what diction!) is Oriol Genís's Lord of Milagro, and very competent are Pau Oliver's Sebastià and Júlia Roch's Mariagneta. Max Glaenzel's stage design is more aesthetic than effective, with a large door leading to a romantic garden illustrated with paintings by Claude Lorrain, but which ultimately serves no purpose. The costumes by Silvia Delagneau and Marc Udina are fantastic. It's worth going to the TNC to hear Sagarria's voice.