New Plays from Chile at Royal Court Theatre
Published on Wed 14 Aug 2013PRESS RELEASE
New Plays from Chile at Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre will stage a week of readings by Chilean playwrights from 10 to 14 September, the culmination of two years’ work in Santiago. The readings coincide with the 40th anniversary of the military coup d’état (11 September 1973), which overthrew Salvador Allende’s democratic government, leading to General Pinochet’s rise to power.
Five plays by contemporary Chilean writers will be performed as rehearsed readings, in translation, in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs. The plays offer a rare insight into life in Chile today, from a traditional Mapuche community to contemporary, urban Santiago, reflecting the painful legacy of dictatorship still alive in the memories of the Chilean people. The week will culminate in a panel discussion with the playwrights on the challenges of writing new plays in contemporary Chile, chaired by International Director Elyse Dodgson.
On Wednesday 11 September to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Pinochet coup, there will be a talk from Victor Figueroa-Clark, author of a new biography, Salvador Allende: Revolutionary Democrat. Salvador Allende was the democratically elected President of Chile from 1970 – 1973 and was ousted from office on 11 September 1973. He has become one of the 20th Century’s most emblematic political figures.
On Friday 13 September, there will be a celebration of Chilean culture in the Royal Court Bar & Kitchen with live music from Amigo Artista and a DJ set from Cal Jader.
The Royal Court has been working with emerging playwrights in Chile since April 2012. UK playwrights Leo Butler and Nick Payne, along with Royal Court International Director Elyse Dodgson, travelled to Santiago to work with 12 young writers on creating new plays inspired by contemporary Chile.
International Associate Richard Twyman joined them on the final visit when excerpts from all the plays were presented at Teatro de la Palabra in Santiago. The project was undertaken in partnership with the British Council, the Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes, Chile and the Festival Internacional de Teatro Santiago a Mil.
Tuesday 10 September, 9pm
Ñuke (Mother)
by David Arancibia Urzua, translated by William Gregory
directed by Hettie Macdonald
In Chile’s rural south, Carmen sees her native Mapuche community demonised, her family invaded and her ancient way of life threatened by a seemingly unstoppable outside world. As her neighbours seek to resist while the country stands ambivalent to their plight, how long will this mother hold out before her stoicism reaches breaking point?
Wednesday 11 September, 6pm
Talk: Allende, 40 years on
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
On the 40th anniversary of the Pinochet coup, Victor Figueroa-Clark discusses the life, death and legacy of Salvador Allende, democratically elected President of Chile and one of the 20th Century’s most emblematic political figures. Victor Figueroa-Clark is author of a new biography, Salvador Allende: Revolutionary Democrat (published by Pluto Press), a lecturer in International History at the London School of Economics and editor of lefthistory.com.
In association with Chile: 40 years on
Tickets Free with a reading or £5
Wednesday 11 September, 8pm
The Red Set (Tiempos Mejores)
by Florencia MartÃnez EcheverrÃa, translated by Simon Scardifield
directed by Caitlin McLeod
A woman lies deep in a coma as her dutiful family gathers to watch over her. Sibling rivalry, political guilt and economic worries build as the weeks and months pass by. The city stirs outside, but the once militant patient languishes unconscious, and her hospital bed becomes both refuge and prison for her fretful children.
Thursday 12 September, 9pm
Negra, the General’s Nurse (Negra, la enfermera del General)
by Bosco Israel Cayo Ãlvarez, translated by William Gregory
directed by Richard Twyman
Times have changed. Viewed now with disgust by the nation whose leader she once so proudly served, a nurse takes refuge in the arid northern mountains of her birth. Reunited with her family, she sets about forging a new life, but the vengeance of a people, and of the very earth, may not be so easy to escape.
Friday 13 September, 9pm
Chan!
by Camila Le-Bert, translated by William Gregory
directed by Roxana Silbert
It’s a long flight home and a bumpy landing for Aurora and José, two Chilean graduates whose love blossomed while studying in New York. Back in Santiago, they struggle to adapt to the realities of adult life. The fast-mutating skyline belies a city still weighed down by history, and what once made sense in Brooklyn looks flawed in the shadow of the Andes.
Friday 13 September, 10pm until late
Live Latin Music
Royal Court Bar & Kitchen
Featuring Amigo Artista, A live band playing a new mix of Chilean and South American music, DJ Cal Jader. Combining Latin vibes with classic rhythms and with urban beats.
In association with Movimientos
FREE
Saturday 14 September, 2pm
That Thing I Never Shared with You (Ese Algo Que Nunca Compartà Contigo)
by Claudia Hidalgo
translated by William Gregory, directed by Mark Ravenhill
Followed by panel discussion
After years of estrangement, a father and daughter are reunited over an uneasy breakfast. As her son prepares for a school day he will once again miss, the daughter reveals the reason for her recent isolation, little realising that her own confession will uncover painful secrets left locked away for decades.
Tickets for all readings £8 per reading (£6 if booked with another reading) available at www.royalcourttheatre.com 020 7565 5000
Listings Information:
International Playwrights: A Genesis Foundation Project
with additional support from the British Council and the Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes, Chile, in collaboration with the Festival Internacional de Teatro Santiago a Mil.
New Plays from Chile
10-13 September 9pm (8pm on 11 Sep)
Sat 14 September 2pm
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, SW1W 8AS
Tickets £8 (£6 if booking for more than one reading)
Concessions £6
The Royal Court Theatre is supported by Coutts
Coutts is the UK private banking arm of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Coutts has a long history of supporting the arts going back 200 years, having looked after the financial affairs of many famous clients connected with the arts such as Bram Stoker, Charles Dickens and Chopin. In 1816, Thomas Coutts married Harriot Mellon, a popular actress of her day, and together they became partners of a number of London Theatres, including the Drury Lane and the Royal Opera House. Coutts has even featured in a number of artistic works including The Gondoliers by Gilbert and Sullivan, and Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic story Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. In the new millennium, this tradition has continued not only through managing the finances of many of today’s top writers, actors and musicians, but also through our arts sponsorship programme and we are delighted to support The Royal Court and its diverse range of ground-breaking performances.
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New Plays from Chile is presented as part of International Playwrights: A Genesis Foundation Project.
The Genesis Foundation supports the Royal Court’s International Playwrights Programme. It funds the International department’s workshops in diverse countries as well as residencies at the Royal Court that find and develop the next generation of professional playwrights. The Foundation’s involvement extends to productions and rehearsed readings which helps the Royal Court to provide a springboard for young writers to greater public and critical attention. For more information, please visit www.genesisfoundation.org.uk
New Plays from Chile is supported by British Council and the Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y las Artes, Chile, in collaboration with the Festival Internacional de Teatro Santiago a Mil.
For more information on the British Council and its work, please visit www.britishcouncil.org