Carol López brings the 'Mangione Manifesto' to the Lliure

BarcelonaOn December 4, 2024, in New York City, Luigi Mangione, a 26-year-old tech enthusiast, murdered Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Healthcare, the largest health insurance company in the United States. The bullets he used to commit the crime They had three words written on themTo deny, to defend, to depose. Exactly one year later, the Teatre Lliure hosts, starting this Wednesday Mangione ManifestoA performance by Carol López, featuring a company of postgraduate students from the Institut del Teatre, uses the murder of Thompson as a starting point to explore what it takes to ignite a revolution.

The performance follows the impact of the Mangione case without either the perpetrator or the victim appearing in the first person. On stage, two police officers, an intern, a journalist who wants to change the world, a pregnant photographer, and a television presenter with radical ideas come to life. They all embody the effects of Thompson's death on their lives, demonstrating how violence is more prevalent in our daily lives than we realize. "How often do you experience that rage, that makes you think you'd fire a shot? We all have that impulse," emphasizes López, adding that with this piece she wanted to address "the violence we all suffer every day."

"We reflect on the violence that occurs everywhere, from workplaces to interpersonal relationships, but also from the system towards the entire population. Do we have to put up with it and continue like this, or is a violent act really necessary? How can we turn this around?" Fidel Pallerols, Élida Pérez, Alba Roldán, Andrea Sánchez, and Carlos Ulloa.

More alone than ever

López's proposal aims to champion collective action and the power of theater as tools to combat the scourge of capitalism. "Luigi Mangione's act was clearly individual. To achieve what he did, you must endure extreme loneliness. And this occurred in a society where we are all hyperconnected yet feel more alone than ever," Gilabert points out. In this sense, the creative process of the work has also been a collective endeavor, with all the performers contributing ideas and references.

Mangione Manifesto It is part of the Reverberacions program, a joint initiative of the Institut del Teatre and the Lliure, aimed at opening professional paths for recent graduates. "It's important to bring new faces to the Catalan stage and for this production not to be just a flash in the pan," argues López. After its run in Barcelona, ​​the show will tour Vic, Premià de Mar, Sallent, Viladecans, Granollers, Terrassa, and Vilanova i la Geltrú.