Poeta en Nueva York

Writer and theatre director Carlos Marquerie says that when he was young, he had Lorca’s Poet in New York on his desk for years, but never quite knew how to approach it to bring it to the stage. Years later, in 2020, he listened carefully to Enrique Morente’s Omega and was drawn to the story of ‘Pequeño vals vienés’ since its creation in 1930, which has been performed by Leonard Cohen and Morente, up to the wonderful version by Sílvia Pérez Cruz. All of them have somehow left their mark on the poem, as if they were imprinting the way we read it today. It was then that Marquerie realised that the way he connected to and understood the verses of Poet in New York had changed. He had partnered with Sílvia Pérez Cruz on several shows as a lighting specialist, stage director and playwright, as well as with choreographer Elena Córdoba, who is also part of this version of Poet in New York. In this way, the theatre director indirectly becomes part of the universe of Sílvia Pérez Cruz, which will also feature at this year’s festival. 

Poet in New York was the outcome of Lorca’s stint at Columbia University. The alienation of the human being, capitalism, beauty, injustice and love are just some of the themes it discusses. But Marquerie is an experienced artist, and he finds a way to make Lorca’s poems reach us. In this version of Poet in New York, written in collaboration with Pedro G. Romero, the Lorca of the cristobitas (puppets) and folk songs intertwines with the cosmopolitan, experimental Lorca. The music of Niño de Elche and the poet’s verses are juxtaposed, seeking distance from the stage like bunraku, the Japanese puppet theatre that combines puppets, recitation and music. The dancer Jesús Rubio Gamo is also part of the show, and together they serve up the best of Madrid’s avant-garde scene. In this show, actors, dancers, musicians and puppeteers have the task of conveying Lorca’s poetics to the audience.

Co-produced by the Teatro Español and the Teatro Kamikaze in conjunction with the Federico García Lorca Foundation.