'Marie, the Red': the acidic and feminist gaze of Rosa Maria Arquimbau

BarcelonaRosa Maria Arquimbau (Barcelona, ​​​​1909-1992) was one of the most relevant feminist voices of the mid-twentieth century in Catalonia, but practically all of her theatrical work was buried in oblivion. Her most outstanding show, Marie, the red one, premiered in 1938 in Barcelona, ​​although at that time "President Lluís Companys asked Catalans not to go to the theatre, to pay attention to the Civil War," recalls documentary filmmaker Bernat Reher. Almost three decades after his death, the figure of Arquimbau has experienced a return to bookstores in recent years, with volumes such as the Collected theatre (Arola, 2020) and the collection of newspaper articles Film & Soda (Comanegra, 2022). Now, the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya (TNC) wants to contribute by putting it back on the top of the stage with the production of Marie, the red one, which opens this Thursday and will be at the Sala Petita until April 6.

"Arquimbau was a combative woman, very acid, ahead of her time and with the idea of helping the most disadvantaged through her articles," explains the director of the show, Ester Villamor, who debuts with this project at the TNC. To raise Marie, the red one Without ignoring the current context, but with the aim of making her known as a key piece of Catalan theatrical heritage, Villamor has teamed up with Carles Mallol, who has done the dramaturgy. "The show presents the text and the writer, but we have incorporated a transformative view of the feminism that she proposed. We have enhanced the world of prison, motherhood and work on masculinities," explains Mallol.

The protagonist who gives the title to the play – and who on stage embodies Carlota Olcina – is a young activist who ends up in a women's prison in Paris after attacking a policeman. There she will meet a group of women with very different realities who will confront her with their communist and feminist ideals. "Between them all they create a community of women, but Marie is a very rational character and the rest are more of a heart and soul," says Villamor. The actresses Mercè Arànega, Meritxell Huertas, Tai Fati, Alba Montaño, Antonia Jaume and Martina Roura are in charge of giving life to these prisoners, among them one who has killed a man after enduring a lot of violence and an oil poisoner.

Love as a transformative tool

Marie's time in prison changes her view of reality and opens the doors to the idea that love can be a tool for transformation. This part of the plot is conveyed through the character of Jacques Dubois, a prison officer played by Borja Espinosa. "Jacques has recently experienced an episode of abuse of power when Marie arrives and feels attracted to him. For him, love is an ideal that makes him transform. I have the feeling that it illustrates the moment in which we find ourselves as men today, in the process of change," says Espinosa. The male cast of the play is completed by Jordi Llovet and Oriol Guinart.

To get closer Marie, the red one Today, Villamor has used music and movement above all to convey the idea of sisterhood among prisoners. Mercè Arànega, who says she has "danced a lot" for the piece, stresses the fact that "each of the women comes from a different place and has her own character, but when they need each other, they join forces." The scenic translation of this camaraderie takes shape through the songs of, among other artists, the Dominican Tokischa and Gata Cattana, the Andalusian poet and rapper who died in 2017 at the age of 25. "Through dance, they form a kind of coven that unites them all," says Villamor, who argues that this is one of the great questions of the piece: "Is there a single ideal or can we be enriched by diverse views?"