"Good faith can do a lot of harm"

BarcelonaA person with Down syndrome was denied access to the public bus because residents didn't trust their behavior. A couple, also with Down syndrome, faced opposition from their neighbors when moving into an apartment and were forced to use the service elevator instead of the residents' elevator. These are two recent examples of the many challenges people with disabilities face daily—often in silence. For the past eight years, the company of choreographer Vero Cendoya It is made up of performers with and without disabilities. "It's not a social project. I look for the people who work best for what I want to express," says the artist. Until now, he had never directly addressed disability and inclusion on stage, but the book A brilliant imperfection Eli Clare's work changed everything.

"The author is a man queer "With cerebral palsy, she defends the right not to be homogenized, to live with disability with pride. She insists on the idea that she loves herself as she is and wouldn't change. 'People with disabilities aren't broken, they're simply different,' explains Cendoya. That text sowed the seed for a show that has been developing for over a year and which, starting January 15th, can be seen at the Sala Tallers of the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya." A brilliant imperfection (or the death of a pianist) It's a celebration of difference through humor and dance, with eight performers on stage. "It's not a show to scold the audience, but a luminous and empowering celebration," emphasizes Cendoya, who collaborated on the dramaturgy with Israel Solà of La Calòrica.

The title itself is a declaration of intent. "Any documentary about disabled people, 30 seconds in, plays sad piano music. It never fails. They always resort to victimhood. In the show, we have a six-minute scene with the most absurd and funny ways to kill the pianist," says the choreographer. For this production, Cendoya has enlisted performers like Sònia Molins, an actress with cerebral palsy "who has a way of moving that captivates the audience." Also participating are Jem Prenafeta, 17, and Oriol Prats, 53, both with Down syndrome. "Disability isn't a problem in itself. The real problem is how others perceive and act; that diminishes their quality of life daily. Often it's unintentional, but good intentions can do a lot of harm. We question paternalism and social do-goodism because they are often linked to contempt: we feel superior when we see a person in a wheelchair.

A Broken Conversation

With the same intention of dismantling prejudices and bringing together a community that is often marginalized, the company Ça Marche has created a show about the importance of communication between deaf and hearing people. Forced laborThe play, which premieres at the Teatre Lliure this Friday and runs until January 18, is performed in Catalan Sign Language and spoken Spanish, turning the idea of accessibility on its head: here, it will be the hearing people who have to make the greatest effort to follow it. "I conceive of theater as a place of discomfort, which invites us to overcome it in order to reach an emotion," says Nico Jongen, director of Ça Marche.

The show begins with an attempted conversation between two performersJongen himself and Pepita Cedillo, who is deaf, are the performers. Later, Javier Díez, a sign language interpreter, joins them, and the stage structure begins to unravel. "It's a fragmented conversation that is then reconstructed from a much more complex and collective perspective. All of this is an excuse to talk about difference, but the hearing audience must make an effort, sometimes stressful, to understand what the performance is trying to say," Jongen emphasizes. "It's a way for hearing people to become aware of the communication difficulties faced by deaf people. I hope this performance will encourage reflection and a change in the way we all communicate," Cedillo points out.

After each performance, the company will hold a discussion with the performers so that the audience can also share their thoughts. "It will be a safe space for deaf and hearing audience members to ask each other questions. Theater goes beyond mere performance, which is why we've incorporated these encounters," the director concludes. Forced labor It is part of the Ànima Lliure cycle and will also be accompanied by a workshop with deaf teenagers led by Jongen, from which a new show will emerge.