‘Orsini’: a bourgeois or anarchist story?
The play by Aleix Aguilà and directed by Xicu Masó is coming to the TNC to reflect on violence for political causes.
The 7 November 1893 witnessed one of the attacks that marked the history of Barcelona: the bombardment of the Liceu opera house. An anarchist threw two explosives into the orchestra section, although only one of them exploded. They were what was called Orsini bombs, named after their creator. This iconic silver ball with spikes now lends its name to a new play by Aleix Aguilà, directed by Xicu Masó, for the 2018-2019 season at the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, Orsini. Its creators are throwing out a question: is it an anarchist story about the bourgeoisie or a bourgeois story about anarchism? The audience will have to decide. In the play, a bride and a groom are determined to hold their wedding just one day after a defeat which will forevermore be a historical day. But something screeches and alerts the guests during the banquet: an Orsini bomb appears half-buried in the garden, an artefact which caused an explosion at the Liceu opera house on the same day one century earlier. Even though the details of the show are secret, we do know that Orsini explores identity, violence and the irony of the fact that the bourgeois are watching the opera William Tell, about a romantic hero who struggles for his people’s freedom, the night that the bomb exploded.
You can see the play, with performances by Míriam Alamany, Júlia Barceló, Pol López and Pau Viñals, from 2 to 26 May, from Wednesday to Sunday at different times in the Tallers hall at the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya (TNC).
Tickets cost €20. You can buy yours on the TNC website.