e.v.a.

by Marc Artigau, Cristina Genebat and Julio Manrique
directed by: Julio Manrique

A dramatic comedy about pain

Synopsis

What exactly is pain? What forms does it take? Is it objectifiable? Answering these questions is the intention of the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), a line divided into ten points which- if indeed it can be done- establishes a frame of reference for the pain a subject is experiencing.

That pain that E.V.A. (VAS) aims to measure -and even reduce to specific, defined data- is the subject of the production with which the T de Teatre company celebrated its first twenty-five years on stage. It was based on a play written by Marc Artigau, Cristina Genebat and Julio Manrique, who also served as the Director. The play explored the poetics of pain and the thousand faces of this sensory or emotional experience. For there are many kinds of pain, ranging from physical to moral, and from chronic to somatic…

And so, the four actresses of T de Teatre gave life to a catalogue of different types of pain, while they spoke to us about many other subjects: women, friendship, apparent coincidences, the passage of time… With this theme, one would think E.V.A. (VAS) would be a drama, but this is a comedy in which humour and pain are perfectly balanced and flow along over quick, suggestive dialogues.

E.V.A. (VAS) tells the story of Àgata, an actress with a creative block that prevents her from singing who, because of her sick mother who has escaped from a geriatric ward, ends up experiencing a strange, different kind of anniversary with a male nurse who is fond of birdsong. And the story of Paloma, an anaesthetist who talks about VAS at a conference and who may be all too familiar with pain, so much so that her own life has been anaesthetised.

Another of the characters, Clara, is a mother who experiences the pain of separating from her daughter Eve, whose name and youth are symbols of the future. Inside a closet, Clara will find a way to connect with her own mother, who will tell her a rather special secret. And the fourth protagonist, Lola, is a successful professional who punishes herself, morally and physically, for not having dared to make her own decisions in life.

What is the hub connecting all these women and stories, wisely supported by some male characters? Well, the characters all shared a classroom in the past, and to one of them, through the others’ direct or indirect action, fell the role of victim.

Everything takes place in a space imagined by Alejandro Andújar, a regular collaborator of T de Teatre, who on this occasion envelops the production with an efficient and meticulously thought-out scenography, which eschews all pretension but achieves impressive results.

B for Biography

E.V.A. (VAS) premiered at the Teatre Romea in June 2017 as part of the Grec Festival in Barcelona and then embarked on a long tour of Catalunya’s main theatres and a season at the Kamikaze Pavón Theatre in Madrid. The show bids farewell where it began, at the Teatre Romea.

C for Figures

125 shows and 42,000 spectators

Credits

Cast: Rosa Gàmiz, Carolina Morro, Marta Pérez, Carme Pla, Albert Ribalta, Jordi Rico and Àgata Roca.

Cast stand-in: Chantal Aimèe

With the special collaboration of Carme Fortuny and Mamen Duch

Scenography: Alejandro Andújar
Wardrobe: Maria Armengol
Lighting: Jaume Ventura
Original music: Marco Mezquida
Sound: Damien Bazin
Video: Francesc Isern
Assistant director: Marc Artigau
Executive producer and manager: Daniel López-Orós

Assistant director: Carolina Morro
Assistant wardrobe: Marta Pell
Technical manager and lighting operator: Rubèn Taltavull
Sound operator: Roger Ábalos
Stage props: Roman Ogg and Erin Bassa
Stage manager: Carmen Álvarez
Truck driver: Miguel Yuste
Manufacturing of scenography: Pascualín and Fusteria Roca Fitó

Communication: Clara Aguilar
Administration: Emi Rojo
Photography: David Ruano
Graphic design: Enric Jardí
Press: La Costa Comunicació
Singer of the song ‘E.V.A.’: Carola Ortiz

Produced by T de Teatre, Grec 2017 Festival de Barcelona and Teatre Romea with the support of Institut Català de les Empreses Cultural del Departament de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya.

We also appreciate the collaboration of Punto Blanco, Irene González, Jenaro Mañero, Jöns Pappila, Òptica Sanabre, Andrew Tarbet and Agustí López-Orós.

The show was premiered at Teatre Romea de Barcelona June 30th of 2018.