Delicades — T de Teatre

Delicate women

written and directed by: Alfredo Sanzol

A story on fragile individuals stories who live oblivious to fragility

Synopsis

In 1995 Alfredo Sanzol (Pamplona, 1972), who would soon become on of the voices to follow in playwriting at the start of the XXI century, saw T de Teatre play in Madrid one of their first shows, Homes! (Men!). The calidoscopic structure consisting of seven sketches connected by one core concept left him fascinated. A new world opened up for the young playwriter and a new way of leading his creations on stage was found.

Some years later, in 2008, the girls at T de Teatre went to see a play at the Teatre Lliure in Barcelona by Sanzol, Sí, pero no lo soy (Yes, but I’m not that). Left in awe and full of enthusiasm with what they had just seen they went to talk to him once the show was over. It was an instant match. Clearly, it was just a matter of time for the author obsessed with short stories and sketches to work with a company from Barcelona who from their first play, Petits contes misògins (Short misogynous tales) (1991) had already showcased that format.

It was as part of the Grec Festival in Barcelona in 2010 when they teamed up. They premiered at Teatre Poliorama Delicades (Delicate women) , a comedy full of light and poetry consisting of nineteen stories inspired by a childhood, that of Sanzol, lived among grandmothers and aunts. It was scenes of the past viewed through a contemporary lens, as if it were a selection of photographies or film videos in black and white which thanks to technology suddenly were bursting with lively colors.

The Spanish civil war and postwar periods serve as historical contexts of many of the stories led by women who at first glance look delicate but who are way stronger than the male characters who share the stage with them. Women who while sharing their touching and moving stories put a smile on the audience’s faces which later turn, without an apparent effort by the actresses, into pure laughter.

A couple of friends who need an excuse to go together on a walk, a painter who desperately needs to sell a painting, two girls who are saying their goodbyes to their brother leaving for the war front, a soldier who sends a photographer to take some nudes of his girlfriend…

Delicades is a collection of diverse stories, a platform for voices and characters who under an apparent disparity conform a dynamic entity which is moving and amusing at the same time.

B as in Biography

After premiering in 2010 at the Grec Festival in Barcelona the play was brought to the Teatro Español in Madrid and went on tour around the Spanish state and international festivals in Colombia, Ecuador, Dominican Republic and Paris, France where it was met with overwhelming success both by the critics and the audience.

N as in Numbers

181 performances and was seen by 57.000 people.

Credits

Cast: Mamen Duch, Marta Pérez, Carme Pla, Albert Ribalta, Jordi Rico and Àgata Roca.

Cast stand-in: Mònica López and Xavi Mira

Scenery and costumes design: Alejandro Andújar
Lighting design: Albert Faura (A.A.I.)
Sound design: Roc Mateu
Assistant director: Eli Iranzo
Characterization: Tito Monros and Karol Tornaria
Executive producer: Daniel López-Orós

Production manager: Carmen Álvarez
Technical director: Judit Vidal
Lighting assistant: Carles Borràs

Stage sets built by: Castells Planas de Cardedeu
Dress and costume making: Maribel Rodríguez
Tailoring: Luis Espinosa
Footwear: Theaterschuhherstellung
Textile designs and manufacturing of scenography: Pilar Albadalejo
Digital prints scenography: Impresiones digitales de escenografia: Marc Martí
Structural design of special scenography: May
Tree manufacturing: Obaga
Lighting board operator: Carles Borràs and Iñigo Basauri
Sound board operator: Roger Ábalos
Props managers: Marçal Vallhonesta and Roman Ogg
Stage: Judit Vidal

Graphic design: Enric Jardí
Photography: David Ruano
Press: Sandra Costa (La Costa Comunicació)
Video: Marc Matons
Web: Runroom
Social network: Agitación

Co-producers Festival Grec de Barcelona and T de Teatre

With the support of Institut Català de les Indústries Culturals de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Ministerio de Cultura INAEM and Institut Ramon Llull.

Collaborator Teatre La Sala (Ajuntament de Rubí).

The show was premiered at Teatre Poliorama on June 25th 2010.