Cesc Gay: "We don't realize the amount of fights we have between siblings"
The director brings to the Condal Theatre the Spanish version of '53 Sundays', the play that was performed at the Romea in 2020
BarcelonaAfter the success of the comedy 53 diumenges at the Teatre Romea in 2020, Cesc Gay (Barcelona, 1967) premieres a Spanish version of the play at the Teatre Condal, where it can be seen from September 9 to 27. The director already adapted the story a few months ago for the homonymous original Netflix film and now returns to Barcelona with a cast formed by actors Julián López, Pepa Charro (La Terremoto de Alcorcón), Xavi Mira and Candela Serrat, in the roles played in 2020 by Pere Arquillué, Marta Marco, Lluís Villanueva and Àgata Roca, respectively.
The play is the story of three siblings who must decide what to do with their 86-year-old father, who is beginning to ramble. "I am passionate about the theme, because we don't realize the amount of arguments we have between siblings, even though it is one of the most beautiful and important bonds that exist. I have been lucky, but around me I have seen real battlefield fights," explains Gay. The filmmaker debuted as a playwright with Els veïns de dalt, adapted for cinema under the title Sentimental(2020). Following the success of the play, at the beginning of the year the American producer A24 bought the rights to the film for more than 10 million euros to make a remake in Hollywood directed by and starring Olivia Wilde: The invitewill premiere on October 16 and features a cast that includes Seth Rogen, Edward Norton, and Penélope Cruz. Despite being a creator of stories for the screen, Gay states that 53 diumenges was conceived as a theatrical piece. "Deep down I'm not a theater man, but I'm trying," admits Gay.
In the play, we witness the squabbles of the three siblings that arise over the most absurd reasons, such as a light bulb that needs changing. Gay explains that he observed some close families that "generated a lot of curiosity to investigate." "There is a moment in the play when Candela's character, who is an only child, says: 'How beautiful it is to see siblings fight.' Those of us who have them can get hurt, but from an external point of view it is fascinating," assures the director.
For this new version, Gay chooses the La Mancha actor Julián López, which explains that he "had a pending subject with the theater". "Family is a very particular ecosystem about which much has been written, and all that remains. It is very enriching to bring it to light on stage", says the actor. López's partner in the play is actress Candela Serrat, daughter of Joan Manuel Serrat, in the role that Àgata Roca played at the Romea. "It's the first comedy I've done, and I can assure you it's much harder than tragedy. It's much more subtle, the timing is much more complicated", says Serrat.
The actor also participates Xavi Mira, who Gay defines as "a straw man of the theater". Mira assures that he feels comfortable doing comedies, but that this one goes further. "When I go to the theater I like to be given life lessons, and this play has many. There is a hidden reading that while you laugh you are reflecting inside", concludes the actor.
