Emma Vilarasau: "There comes a time in life when bad decisions must be acknowledged and forgiven."

BarcelonaThere are few shows on the Catalan stage that bring together top-tier actors and actresses and give them leading roles designed to make them all shine on stage. The children, Lucy Kirkwood's play is one of those opportunities, and the public knows it and has made it known: before the opening on Saturday, February 7th at the Villarroel Theatre, more than 15,000 tickets have already been sold, a new advance sales record for the venue. The first four performances are sold out, and for many of the others (the play runs until March 29th), only a few seats remain. The three main attractions of the show are the actors Emma Vilarasau, Jordi Boixaderas, and Mercè Aránega, who star in a tragicomedy about the responsibility of current generations for the future. David Selvas directs, in a production by La Brutal with a translation by Cristina Genebat.

"Lucy Kirkwood doesn't hold back. With this show, she wants to address issues like atomic energy, climate change, and the consequences we, as inhabitants of this planet, have on it. She has a very good line: that major decisions should take into account the next seven generations," S points out. The show—a version of which was seen at the Teatre Akadèmia in 2022 with Isabelle Bres, Albert Pérez, and Maria Pau Pigem—is inspired by the 2011 Fukushima disaster and places three nuclear scientists on the edge of an exclusion zone after a radioactive accident. Two of them are a married couple (Aránega and Boixaderas) when they receive a visit from an old friend (Vilarasau) with whom they built a nuclear power plant, a place they haven't seen in 38 years.

The three protagonists carry heavy burdens related to past decisions that have affected their lives. "They're at an age where they're no longer wasting time on nonsense; the countdown has begun. There comes a point in life when bad decisions must be acknowledged and forgiven in order to move forward, so that the final stretch serves a purpose," Vilarasau reflects. Her character shakes up the present of the other two protagonists and triggers a series of unexpected revelations. All of this unfolds against the backdrop of a world in agony while humanity only seeks to continue growing. "When will we stop growing? When will we learn to be content, when will we understand that we can't have it all? These are things we should be taught as children. Kirkwood uses theater to go against the grain and to hit a nerve," Selvas points out.

A tribute to women who are role models

The story of these three scientists unfolds in a single scene over 90 minutes, which the director envelops with a non-naturalistic, poetic set design by Josep Iglésias. Both protagonists are successful women in a heavily male-dominated environment, though they hold opposing views and perspectives on the present. Aránega's character has had to work and advance her career while raising four children, and she is proud of it. The playwright wrote it precisely to pay homage "to this generation of women who have paved the way and been role models," says Selvas. Boixaderas, on the other hand, plays "a scientist with a brilliant career who has now retired and realizes that everything he has built has ended up surrounding him with destruction," explains the actor. The arrival of Vilarasau's character will provide him with a path to redemption.

Vilarasau explains that one of the reasons she agreed to this project is Kirkwood's exploration of generational debt. "She doesn't give lessons or try to teach you anything. She shows you realities and hopes the audience can draw their own conclusions. That's the role of theater. We're here to hold up a mirror, to show that we've done things wrong and that, unfortunately, we're still doing them wrong," says Vilarasau, who is very critical of the current situation: "The War of Pal. isn't the same after that, but we always react." a posterioriI'm in favor of banning social media for those under 16, but couldn't we have seen before how harmful it is to these generations?

After passing through Villarroel, The children It will tour the country briefly with nine performances. The company also hopes to return to Barcelona next season. Meanwhile, the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya will premiere another Lucy Kirkwood production in May. The firmament, starring Sílvia Abril.