Joel Juan was crying. He was crying as he said hello. Tears brought on, we don't know, by Sonia's final monologue about boundless resilience and faith in the afterlife, or by the emotional release he felt after an hour and a half journey with the eight characters of Uncle Vanya by Chekhov.

It was after seeing The madman and the shirt, the flagship work of Nelson Valente (Buenos Aires, 1971), that T de Teatre decided to sign the Argentine playwright and director for their next show. "We saw that play and went crazy. We all shared the feeling that he was a director who could take us out of our comfort zones, put us in a cocktail shaker, and shake us up," explains actress Mamen Duch. "That text has brilliant dialogue that captivated us. Nelson's plays are ensemble pieces, but they touch on relatable themes; people can identify with them, and they have a humor that can be uncomfortable," adds Àgata Roca. In recent years, Valente's appearances on the Catalan stage have become increasingly frequent. Last season he premiered Amnesia at the Teatre Nacional and, in 2020, also worked with a Catalan company in The dogs...among other productions. That's why it made perfect sense that Valente's response to T de Teatre's request was affirmative.