Mos Maiorum puts on a show to revive belief in the revolution.

BarcelonaA century has passed since anarchism and syndicalism took to the streets with the conviction that the revolution was imminent, and the Mos Maiorum company is convinced that that moment has many similarities with the current era. "The drums of war were heard throughout Europe, fascism was on the rise, and inequalities were increasingly present. Now all of this resonates with us," says director Ireneu Tranis. How did people react then, in that context? Can we reflect on it? With these questions, Mos Maiorum has approached the figure of the anarchist Joan Garcia Oliver (Reus, 1902 - Mexico, 1980) and has constructed a show, We, the nameless, which premieres on October 10 in Girona (La Planeta, as part of Temporada Alta) and will run at the Sala Beckett in Barcelona from October 18. "It was a time when utopia was solid, palpable. We want to tell it and appeal to hope," adds Tranis.

We, the nameless –which takes its title from the well-known speech by García Oliver in 1937, at the inauguration of the mausoleum of Durruti, Ascaso and Ferrer y Guardia in Montjuïc– is part of the book of memoirs The echo of the footsteps by Garcia Oliver and features Diego Lorca, Alba Valldaura, and Pau Vinyals in the cast. These three "invoke" the figure of the anarchist on stage, but also other characters they coincided with, such as Frederica Montseny, Lluís Companys, and Buenaventura Durruti. "For many years, the idea of revolution was seen as inevitable for the working class. It's not a show about the Civil War, defeat, and dictatorship, but about the idea of believing that change is possible, without overly romanticizing it," says Joan Yago.

The production marks a change in the trajectory of Mos Maiorum, known until now for their plays. verbatim, with titles like Mos Maiorum (2015) and Solar (2022). Here, the original stage material isn't interviews but rather García Oliver's life, which has been fictionalized. "We've done it without renouncing our theatricality and with the idea that it's not a show for scholars, but for a wide audience. A lot will happen on stage; it has a fast-paced rhythm," says Tranis. Just a few weeks ago, it also premiered at the Vic Live Music Market. Durruti, I love you, a musical show about Durruti, a fact the director attributes to the interest in the era. "We're in the 1920s, and we're experiencing very similar things," he adds.

The Tournament and the Bookworms are back.

The premiere of Mos Maiorum kicks off Temporada Alta's Catalan playwriting program. The Girona festival will also feature the traditional Playwriting Tournament, which is celebrating its 15th edition this year. It will feature plays by authors such as Miquel Mas Fiol, Laura Aubert, Francesc Cuéllar, and Martí Torres, with Meritxell Yanes as master of ceremonies. In parallel, Temporada Alta has revived Librálogos, an initiative that began in 2014 and was discontinued following the pandemic. This project will bring short texts by Clàudia Cedó, Cristina Clemente, Carla Torres, and Lara Díez to Girona libraries, represented by Mercè Pons and Yanes herself.