Stage portrayals and memories are some of the issues that interest Didier Ruiz the most, hence his creation of many shows such as this, with La compagnie des Hommes that he has been directing since 1998, which bring real life to the stage. This time the central characters are migrants from Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Senegal, Ghana, Morocco and the Republic of Guinea. They are all old and, for that very reason, still maintain ties with two worlds: the one they left and the other which, to their regret, they live in today. How did they get here? Why did they leave their home? How have they experienced this culture change? How have they contributed to the building of today's Catalonia (and Europe)? These first-generation immigrants will leave us a legacy of what they possess: memories, longings and the experience of living in a country that is not their own, a world that always needs a newcomer to ignore.
This is a new show from the Dale recuerdos (Je pense à vous) series. One of them was performed here in Barcelona in 2017, created with elderly residents from the Gràcia neighbourhood speaking about their lives, solitude, war, love and absent loved ones that have left them heartbroken. This Dale recuerdos (Je pense a vous) has taken a thousand and one forms in the various communities it has been staged in, now in its 36th version playing this year. It is yet another example of a way of creating theatre that Didier Ruiz and La compagnie des Hommes have applied to different groups, ranging from transsexuals to teenagers. Each case sees the company working with a local group, making a meticulous selection of the stories told and providing the central characters, who are never professional stage actors, with the basic skills for projecting their voice and correctly moving about on stage.
A Barcelona Grec 2021 Festival, La compagnie des Hommes and Direction Régionale des affaires culturelles d’Ile-de-France, Région Ile-de-France co-production.
In cooperation with Institut Français de Barcelone.
Conceived and adapted for the stage by: Didier Ruiz Assistant director: Monica Bofill Collaborator: Angels Nogué i Solà Music composed by: Adrien Cordier Lighting design: Maurice Fouilhé Sound: Tom Ménigault Production: Emilie Raisson Tour manager: Alda Sauvage Local production: Eva Garcia @comuart_bcn Photography: Emilia Stéfani-Law
