The memories of others can also change you

BarcelonaAmong all the names of great contemporary European creators, there is one that returns to Temporada Alta after a few years without setting foot in it. It is the Flemish director Guy Cassiers (Antwerp, 1960) –director of memorable shows such as The Granddaughter of Mr. Linh (2018) and Le sec et l'humide (2015)–, who arrives at the Girona festival with Thésée, sa vie nouvelle, a stage adaptation of the eponymous novel by Camille de Toledo published in 2020. The work premieres at the Canal in Salt, where it will be performed on Friday and Saturday.

Cassiers came to know Toledo's work through Valérie Dréville, the actress who now stars in the show. She brought him the proposal to transform that novel into a show. "It is a moving book that explains how we are connected to one another and makes visible some links related to our past and our future," explains Dréville. The actress alone faces hundreds of photographs on stage that will serve to reconstruct the protagonist's family history and link it to the great historical events of 20th-century Europe.

After the suicide of her brother, Dréville's character will begin to wonder about her ancestors. The audience will witness how she assembles a family puzzle through images and five cameras that Dréville uses live. "She is responsible for the creation of this universe, for covering all points of view and, at the same time, for interpreting all the characters in the story," explains Cassiers, who emphasizes the stage game proposed for the audience. "Each spectator will have to decide what to follow, whether the illusion itself or the way in which the actress is creating it. The character explains her life to us, but at the same time gives us the opportunity to confront our own past," the director adds.

A forest of questions

Just after the premiere of Guy Cassiers, another international show will arrive at Temporada Alta that also delves into memory and has not been seen in Spain until now either. It is The forest, a creation born from the alliance between the Argentine director Claudio Tolcachir and the Italian dancer Cristiana Morganti, which will be performed on Saturday and Sunday at the Teatre de Salt. Based on Morganti's personal experiences, the duo has built a piece that mixes autobiography, fairy tales, and references to Shakespeare. 

The play begins with a woman's decision to stop her car in the middle of the road and head into a forest where memories, betrayals, unanswered questions, and the past that shaped her will appear to her. Through her journey, The Forest explores issues such as the loss of parents and illness, but does so from an ironic place with touches of humor. "The forest is inside her head and at times it is comforting, while at other times it is terrifying," notes Tolcachir.

For Morganti, the show has allowed her to enter "even with words" into a part of herself that she usually avoids. "There are moments that are very, very intense," the dancer asserts. On stage, she will be accompanied by Lisa Lippi Pagliai, who plays a young girl representing the protagonist herself. Movement and words are combined with an eclectic soundtrack, ranging from Sex Pistols and Tom Waits to pieces by Bach and Vivaldi. Both Morganti and Tolcachir are familiar names at the festival. She has brought pieces such as Moving with Pina (2018) and Behind the light (2022), while he has been at the helm of projects such as L'omissió de la família Coleman (2018) and Dinamo (2015).