Josep Julien: "Catalan theatre has been reduced to a 'star system' which I find absurd."

BarcelonaJosep Julien (Barcelona, ​​1966) debuted as a playwright in 1998 with Absolutely far awayBut after a while, he stopped writing. He returned in 2021 with Bonobo And since then, he has become a regular on the Catalan stage. In parallel, throughout these decades, Julien has built a solid career as a theater, film, and television actor. Now he premieres at the Sala Atrium. Human flesh, a comedy starring Meritxell Calvo and Santi Ricart that brings to the surface the darkest thoughts of a couple driven to competitiveness for their son.

Human flesh According to the program notes, it's "a dark comedy about modern dehumanization." What will we see on stage?

— It's an hour-long, real-time dialogue between a couple who have adopted a child from an area experiencing a major humanitarian crisis. They and their social circle have also adopted children. A kind of competition develops within this group, and this is where the comedy comes in, with very grotesque and over-the-top situations. We all want our children to be the rulers of the world, but in this case, the show goes a step further. It's a distorted mirror of Bauman's liquid modernity, in which all bonds have weakened and the codes governing parent-child relationships are also dictated by the market.

You're attacking parenting, which isn't always a friendly territory, and you're doing it through adoption.

— I've touched on themes that even I was hesitant about. I'm aware they might be controversial and put me in a difficult position, but I don't care. As a playwright, I'm going all out. As an actor, I'm willing to take on almost any role because I've learned to defend even the most improbable characters. Maybe it's the baldness or something else, but I only get offered villainous roles. I've had to play Nazis, rapists... and find things within myself that would help me understand them in order to defend them.

You started writing many years ago, but then you stopped. Why?

— Things were going well; I even won some awards. But then I realized there were no more playwright positions available in Catalonia, so I stopped for a while. The thing is, you don't choose writing; it chooses you, and I couldn't stand it. I started acting in theater through literature because I was passionate about stories, and I suppose I somehow do that on top of everything else. Around 2021, I got back to it, and it came out. Bonobo, about Younes Abouyaaqoub.

You said that as an actor you only get offered bad roles, but when you write, you also focus mainly on them. Why is that?

— When I started working there was La Jaula de Vic, El Tallaret de Salt, El Globo de Terrassa. Now, Catalan theatre is Barcelona theatre. Unfortunately, everything is reduced to Barcelona and a kind of star system which I find absurd. Back then, the stories were the stars of the theater, not whether the actor on stage was starring in the daily midday soap opera or not. The actors' work was valued, but from a different perspective. Now, themes with significant social commentary are addressed: aggression, classism, sexism, xenophobia. But we always side, as we must, with the victim. Villains are portrayed without nuance, allowing us to leave the theater feeling better. I understand dramaturgy as a tool for transformation. Human flesh I want to achieve, through laughter, that the audience identifies with characters who are monsters and that upon leaving they think that they share certain elements so that this is the beginning of an eventual deconstruction.

What stage of your career are you at?

— I know it's a bit indecent, but I'm quite happy. I've made peace with a profession that generates a lot of insecurities in those of us who do it, that often fuels likes and dislikes that come from a very irrational and unhealthy place. I'm able to experience it with a certain degree of fulfillment. As an actor, I've developed a voice that allows me to face any challenge. I'm ready to play good guys! [laughs] As an actor, I'm content, although I'd like to have a bit more choice, and as a writer, I'm on a tireless search for my voice, with projects that I'm very excited about.

25 years ago you did an advertisement with Telefónica that had a huge impact. What did it mean for you professionally?

— It was hard to let go of it afterward. When I did it, I wasn't really aware of it; I just jumped right in because it was so lucrative. The ad became incredibly popular. I was 30 or 35 years old, and I'd been doing theater for ten years. After that, I got some really unusual jobs, like hosting a show on Antena 3. I did it with a sense of fun, trying to enjoy myself. Now I'm at a much more mature point in my career. Back then, I was just scraping by. Now I approach everything with more calm and inner peace. I'm aware of what interests me, and creating projects is what makes me happy.

You're a family of artists. In fact, you have a daughter, Abril, who has already started taking her first steps in the world of theater. How has she handled it?

— Abril has experienced both the highs and lows of the profession, and this is an advantage for her, because many young people who want to become professionals only see one side of it. She knows how tough it is. In this respect, I'm at ease, although I'm aware that it's a difficult job, especially for a woman. Fortunately, this is changing.

Will you find a better sector than the one you found when you started?

— In some ways, yes, in others, no. The current generation of actors and actresses has a much clearer understanding of things than we did, as we were heavily influenced by certain ideas from the mid-20th century. They are much more technically skilled; we were much more intuitive. But in terms of content, paradigmatically speaking, they've somewhat streamlined the stories. Catalan theater is dominated by bourgeois comedy. The two major public theaters are somewhat removed from that, fortunately, though not entirely. The rest of the productions are focused solely on box office success. When I started, it wasn't quite like that. There was an effort to encourage debate and reflection among the audience. I miss seeing our profession more as a vehicle for change and transformation, for influencing the context in which we, as artists, operate.