'Newton's First Law': a magnificent comedy about being strict or being permissive

Newton's first law is the scientific statement of the immobility of an object if there is no force pushing it. It happens with objects and also with our lives and with politics, because if there is no one pushing for real changes, things stay as they are.

This is what Adri (Dafnis Balduz) explains to his student Inza (Max Villanueva) in the new play by an author, Eu Manzanares (The convenience, Fall), that "looks at the world from below, with irony, anger, and tenderness". All this we find in this magnificent comedy about the conflicts that teachers of a problematic institute (or should we say of great complexity) in a problematic neighborhood (or should we say a zone of preferential attention) are accustomed to. The teachers will have to choose between being strict or being permissive.

L'Inza is not a good student, but he is a very good footballer, and a professional team wants to sign him. To access the dream that could solve the boy's and his mother's lives, he needs to have passed ESO. And he has it difficult. They have discovered that the boy copied the assignments. The good disposition of the young and new professor Adri, who believes in camaraderie with the students, is confronted with the stricter ways and the wisdom that comes from the experience of a professor with thirty years of experience (Rosa Gàmiz). Also with the concern of the director (Anna Sahun) about how her innovative educational project, which they have just awarded, could be affected. All three have to deal with the boy's mother (Sara Diego), a survivor who does not understand rules, and with a presumed young journalist and pija (Lua Amat).

The comedy seeks, and finds, the balance between the humor provided by Nelson Valente's lively direction and the seriousness of the conflicts presented. It is a balance that borders on excess but does not cross the line, especially in the role of the mother. Sara Diego gives her a luminous vitality that elicits spontaneous applause from the audience. Also noteworthy is the performance of the veteran teacher Rosa Gàmiz, equally applauded when she becomes realistic and pessimistic. Dafnis Balduz displays his meticulousness and Lua Amat takes on the most pathetic and most frayed role, which she defends with absolute credibility. Max Villanueva is very authentic displaying rage. A success, for sure, and very well deserved.