STUPID PEOPLE

Oct 2, 2019

STUPID PEOPLE

Beatriz Cabur directed two different Rapid Productions of “STUPID PEOPLE” by Daniela Fejerman at the Cervantes Theatre in London in October, 2019.

The original Spanish text was performed by Sofía Monreal, Jorge Lucas and Santiago Cabrero, on Friday 11th October 2019 at 7.30pm

The English version, translated by Hayley O’Kell and María Bastianes, was performed by Nicola Peluso, Robert Bradley and George Williams on Saturday 12th October 2019 at 7.30pm.

Sorcha Corcoran was the costume designer, Ignacio Leache the stage manager and Marcus Roche the production manager, all of them, alongside Puerto Baker, Paula Paz, Jorge de Juan and the rest of the staff at the Cervantes Theatre created the best possible environment to work, each and every single one of them showing a level professionalism that’s not easy to find.

What a blast!

STUPID PEOPLE: Two brothers who argue as to who should care for their lonely mother, a couple who sleep together again after a year of separation, a pregnant policewoman, a British father who aims to pick up his son on his birthday, a desperate man who assaults an off-roader driven by a local dignitary. This is a comedy about stupidity, which knows no economic or social barriers. For there are stupid people in all societies, throughout all ages of all sexes, religions and races. But do we stop to think about this ?

What is a Rapid Production? A Rapid Production is the complete play performed by actors with full movement, staging, music and lighting but with script in hand. The Cervantes Theatre pioneered this sort of production when they noticed that when they watched the play they quickly ‘forgot’ that the actors were reading. Rapid Productions are much more cost effective to put on because rehearsal time is significantly reduced so, for the Cervantes Theatre they have become a way of making top class theatre available at a really low price.

STUPID PEOPLE was performed at the Cervantes Theatre, 229 Union St, London SE1 0LR

on Friday 11th October 2019 at 7.30pm in Spanish, and

on Saturday 12th October 2019 at 7.30pm in English.

“GOODBYE, MOTHER”

Mar 25, 2017

“GOODBYE, MOTHER”

Women’s issues are making strides in equal rights. Our voices are becoming more audible and are definitely resonating but there is a huge backlash to all this progress: The Femicide rates have increased globally.

I met Patricia Masera, a theatre performer from Paraguay, based in New York City, and working mainly in technical theatre on Broadway, in 2012 working on Hotel Project, in NYC. Since then we’ve been cooperating on different stages of our own work, until this year when our desires and goals met to create and produce “GOODBYE, MOTHER”.

“GOODBYE, MOTHER” is a new play about femicide that gives a voice not only to the women who can’t talk anymore but to the people who stay behind.

All these people and the human networks around them and the impact that every single femicide has on every single person. “GOODBYE, MOTHER” shows that the women killed are not numbers in a yearly list. We need to give them names and lives and people around. We need to see them as they are.

She was my friend. She was my mother. She was my sister. I was alive and loved. I was surrounded by family and friends and my killer. She was my mother and I left her there. I had a daughter, and a husband. I had a father and I left him alone with her. She was my favorite aunt and all I have are beautiful memories of her, she baked me lemon muffins. My aunt Marcia, she was 32.

The project has grown exponentially since its conception. Our initial phase involved research and interviews with key people in three cities: Asuncion, London, and New York City.

We are determined to get as much information as possible to hear the voices of the people around the victims and to catalyze them in one universal piece of work, that can be heard and understood regardless of origin.

After our research and development work, the writing phase started. We will soon start producing the work for its presentation in New York, London and Madrid.

CLICK HERE TO READ "GOODBYE, MOTHER"

Thousands of women are violently killed by their partners or family members, every year. A study published by the United Nations concludes that Femicide:
• Is difficult to eradicate
• It has significant prevalence in all regions
• Is important to monitor
• Needs future research work to better understand enablers/drivers and perpetrators.

“GOODBYE, MOTHER” focuses on the last point of the report that is, to my understanding, the only area in which art, and theatre in particular, can contribute, and it is our responsibility as artists to take on the task.

Picture: Patricia Masera by Tim Becker