
The great classic by Àngel Guimerà is transformed into a detective story.
Pablo Ley and Carme Portacelli sign the dramaturgy of Terra baixa (Reconstrucció d'un crim) performed, among others, by Anna Ycobalzeta, Laura Conejero and Eduard Farelo.
Terra baixa, one of Àngel Guimerà's best-known plays and one of the great classics of Catalan theatre, has been the subject of many versions. The one that will open on 18 January at the large hall of Teatre Nacional de Catalunya (TNC). directed by Carme Portaceli and with dramaturgy by Portaceli herself and Pablo Ley, moves the action to the Barcelona of anarchism and bombs, and becomes a detective story and a thriller whose driving force is the class struggle. In fact, an addition has been made to the title - the montage is called Terra baixa (Reconstrucció d'un crim) - and two characters have been added to the plot: a journalist and a police commissioner.
Ley and Portaceli's proposal aims to maintain the essence of Guimerà's text, and we can already tell you that the mythical cry "He mort el llop!" (I have killed the wolf!) and the main characters are not missing. But the rural drama is transported to a romantic tragedy and is also given a more contemporary look. The police commissioner must investigate the death of an owner at the hands of his worker. And, as the two people responsible for the renewed text point out, "behind Manelic's crime of passion there clearly beats a social drama that, read from the 21st century, in many ways anticipates the history of the 20th century. The worker (Manelic) who confronts the owner (Sebastià) to free his future (Marta) is a transcript of the class struggle, and it doesn't take much imagination to see a far-off origin of the Civil War (with as many anticipations as you like: Tragic Week, the Bolshevik Triennium, the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera...)". The play, recommended for ages 14 and up, is performed by Pepo Blasco, Laura Conejero, Mohamed Bouhali, Borja Espinosa, Eduard Farelo, Mercè Mariné, Roser Pujol, Manel Sans, Kathy Sey and Anna Ycobalzeta.
On 20 January, after the performance, there will be a colloquium moderated by the journalist, writer and theatre director Elisenda Roca. On 11 February, the session will be subtitled in English.
More information and tickets at this link.