Sunday, March 22, 2015

Guanajuato Theatre: World-class Evening at the MIQ

One Friday each month is Theater Night at the Museo Icónografico. If the line for last Friday's performance in Spanish based on estadounidense David Mamet's The Duck Variations (!Patos! Historias Desgraznadas) was typical, arrive a little before 7pm to insure getting a ticket.

At the MIQ, The museum patio serves as the stage, with the audience sitting on two sides, so the audience is in an intimate setting close to the actors.

When Mamet wrote this two-character play, he was in his thirties, but already with a command of dialogue. Two old men sit in a park, talking about almost every subject under the sun. Somehow they keep bringing ducks (which neither know much about) into their conversation. So, even when the theme is death, the two couldn't be more alive, playing off each other

Bruno Ruiz adapted the work, in which he and Kaleb Osguera played the characters as young men. They worked together as if they were trapeze artists, both of them masters of physical theatre, timing, expression and their lines.

The set and props were simple and the lighting effective, with the visible, topical ending coming as a great surprise. Thanks to Carlos Vidaurri who arranges the theatre programs at the MIQ  and to the Mexico City team who brought this Cervantino-quality production to Guanajuato.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Always interested in hearing from readers like you. Keep commenting!