"We want to create shows in Catalan for an audience that feels challenged when filling the halls"

BarcelonaWhat do we do with love when a relationship ends? Can an ex-partner be kept close even if the bond has changed? Playwright and theatre director Jumon Erra assures that if he creates a show, "it's to show the difficult things, not the easy ones." That's why the engine powering his new musical, titled After Us, is precisely what to do with someone you love very much, but with whom you can no longer have a romantic relationship. The show is a co-production by Grec with La Santa Pepa and Teatre Texas, and will be performed in this venue from July 30 to August 2. It will return in the autumn, just as the season begins, from September 22 to November 15.

Starring Júlia Jové and Xavi Navarro – who are a couple in real life – the show revolves around the breakup between Lena and Adrià: they haven't been together for a year, but both feel that the other is important and they don't want to lose contact. "We are not prepared to keep important bonds close even if it's difficult. We often tend to push them away. These two confront it," says Erra, who started the project by asking his Facebook contacts to tell him if they had a good relationship with an ex-partner. "I was surprised by people's responses. Some, without knowing me directly, told me intimate details, details of their sex lives, how they had divided their friends, etcetera," says the director.

With all this, he built a story full of emotion, but also humor and irony, inspired by Éric Rohmer's film Trio in E-flat. Pianist and composer Miquel Tejada has been in charge of the soundtrack, which Andrea Mir performs live. "The show's sound universe is hyperrealistic, music we listen to nowadays with an indie and pop feel. Adrià's character is a film score composer, and Lena's is very much involved in the music and festival business," Tejada emphasizes. On stage – a realistic space with the audience on two sides – Mir will play the piano and also use it to launch mixes with other instruments.

"Love is chosen every day"

Jové and Navarro embody the protagonists and also other characters from the couple's environment because "the two of them are not isolated from the rest of the world, there are other important characters in their affective process," says Erra. For the two performers, stepping into the shoes of a couple that has broken up is quite a challenge. "The show is making us talk about a philosophy of couple's life that we have always had. We think that the relationship and love are chosen every day, and in fact the protagonists try to keep choosing each other," highlights Jové. For Navarro, the musical is a way to project his view on how sentimental relationships are lived. "We are eager to tell stories that appeal to all kinds of audiences but also to our generation. This is different compared to years ago, now everything is more volatile and transparent – says Navarro –. We want to create shows in Catalan for an audience that feels addressed when filling the halls".