Men!

by Francesc Pereira, Ferran Verdés, Sergi Belbel, Josep Maria Benet i Jornet and T de Teatre
directed by: Sergi Belbel

A journey on the contemporary human's stages of life

Synopsis

T de Teatre decided to create its second show due to the immense popular and critical success of Little Tales of Misoginy.

After satirising women in the first show, they then wanted to talk about men.To talk about the opposite sex, they used their own ideas plus contributions from four dramatists, with the aim of creating a journey through the ages of contemporary man.

They deal with the sexual vigour of teenage boys (Primavera by Francesc Pereira), the problems of bachelorhood (De copas y compañía by Ferran Verdés), the ups and downs of married life (Ramón by Sergi Belbel) and the decay of old age (Alopecia by Benet i Jornet).

In Men!, the actresses recall famous passages about libertine characters and they put themselves in the skin of those characters in order to boldly dissect the topic of relationships with men nowadays. As collective authors, they present their ¡Ay, hombres! (A feminine discussion of the reality of men), created as a result of real conversations that Sergi Belbel and T de Teatre set out to dramatise.

During the show, they offer an Illustrated talk on male sexuality (absolutely free).All of this is delivered in an ironic, acidic, direct tone with a touch of tenderness (and why not?). They deal with men’s stuff but without mocking or parodying them and avoiding a feminist approach. They win the audience over, owing to their portrayal of easily recognisable everyday situations, which force the audience to take a look at themselves in the mirror, while at the same time being entertained.

Sergi Belbel, who directed the show, manages to enhance a very rich theatrical array with singing formulas and precise and lively action. Men! goes along the same lines as the first show and keeps to simple set design, which highlights the acting quality of the five actresses. Mònica Quintana’s set design for the stage floor is like a chessboard on which the actresses are queens that move about freely. They act out male characters but are dressed as women. It is the script and its nuances that makes them men, but they do not lose a single bit of femininity.

A show with a script written by men about men, but acted out by intrepid women..

B for Biography

Men! premiered in Mercat de les Flors in Barcelona (1994), where it ran for six months, followed by an extensive tour of the whole of continental Spin.

In August 1995, the show was performed in the Theatre Marquina in Madrid. Due to the overwhelming popular and critical response, it continued to be performed there for a whole year.

Men! went as far as Argentina. The show ran for three months in the Plaza de Buenos Aires.

F for Figures

832 performances watched by 340,000 people

Credits

Actresses: Mamen Duch, Rosa Gàmiz, Míriam Iscla, Carme Pla and Àgata Roca

Cast stand-ins: Eli Iranzo, Marta Pérez and Maria Lanau

Sound design: Miguel Espinosa
Lighting design: Tito Rueda
Original music: Òscar Roig
Stage set and wardrobe: Mònica Quintana
Executive producer: Daniel López-Orós

Lighting operator: Joaquín Guirado
Sound operator and stagehand: Jordi Fernández

Hat made by: Nina Pawlosky
Stage sets made by: Castells i Planas (Cardedeu)
Wardrobe design: Carles Muxart
Soundtrack recording: Estudi Paramètric

Company manager: Mar Senespleda
Graphic design: Propaganda
Photography: Pau Ros and Ros Ribas

Co-produced by T de Teatre and El Mercat de les Flors with the collaboration of the Ministry of Culture (INAEM), the Department of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Centre Cultural de Sant Cugat.

Showed premiered at Mercat de les Flors – Espai B de Barcelona, on March 8th of 1994.

Men!

Men!

A journey on the contemporary human's stages of life

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