After that goat partyVisiting everything except a party due to wearing masks and capacity restrictions in public, Juan Echanove decided to bet on comedy and put it together To be or not to bework inspired by a cinematographic classic Ernst Lubitsch. It was produced by Okapi and adapted for the theater format by Bernardo Sánchez.
What makes such a film a masterpiece? To be or not to be?
-Timelessness that can be understood and enjoyed by many generations is what makes it a classic. There are classics that are classics in their own right, and there are irreplaceable classics, because the world of drama has a much broader catalog of masterpieces than comedy. Lubitsch’s greatness lies in designing all this nonsense around such a momentous event as Hitler’s invasion of Poland. A fast-paced comedy made by a man who truly loves theatre, as Lubitsch is part of the large theater family.
Did this fact make it easier to stage?
-It was very difficult to do that. We are a cast of six actors and one actress and we play 37 characters. Lucía Quintana, who plays the heroine of the series, María Tura, is the only person who doesn’t double down on the characters.
-How do you do this character ballet without falling into madness?
-Of course with so much concentration and skill that all the players in this company have.
-Characters leave traces in the interpreter. Does it all enrich you and give you wisdom?
-Yes, and much more in the theater, because maybe it’s like a project To be or not to be You have to devote many years of your life to it. We’ve been doing this for about a year, and I think we have another six months ahead of us. A character can become something important in your life, but you must also know how to put it in the locker room and dedicate yourself to living it. The character cannot dominate the way of thinking of the person. I like to finish the show and, if possible, have a beer with my colleagues and toast the performance.
-What is the contribution of a character like Joseph Tura to you?
-On paper, Joseph Tura is the furthest person you can find: a smug, arrogant actor, sometimes a bully to company members… He’s also very brave and capable of anything to get your attention. others, he’s a sick actor. I guess I still don’t look like him. But I liked to look inside myself for what might be part of the Tura behavior and to paint a fun and natural composition outside.
-Can you write without thinking about Rafael Azcona?
-I always do it when setting up theatre. My way of thinking as an actor, my education, my rennet comes from the few years that we fortunately still enjoy the presence of Rafael Azcona. This way of identifying the everyday with the absurd makes me think I live in a society that never changes. There are many writers who follow Azcona’s footsteps.
Mallorca still mourns the death of Agustí Villaronga.
-His cinema was personal. Agustí was a great observer. And he was a poet. He did not get carried away with easy ways and always managed to convey real, human, deep feelings. I was lucky to meet him. It is a great Spanish cinema.
-And Trueba said: “I don’t believe in God, I believe in Billy Wilder.” Does the same thing happen with Lubitsch?
I’m a Billy Wilder subscriber and yes, the same thing happens to me at Lubitsch. When Wilder got stuck shooting a movie in Hollywood, he’d go to his office, lock himself in, and stare at a painting on the wall, a piece of paper with just writing on it. Would Lubitsch do it? Both Wilder and Lubitsch, together with Chaplin, represent a way of thinking in cinema, a very powerful style.
Could the theater then act as a solvent to dismantle the Nazi machine?
-As the protagonist of the plot, there is a group of actors who are suddenly involved in the advance over Poland by Germany and take control of the resistance, and due to these ups and downs of the well-drawn theatrical plot, it turns out that they are the winners. Last chance against the most dangerous man. And the only thing they have to counter the Nazis is their skills.
Is laughing always liberating?
-When people celebrate what they hear or see, it’s because they’re in it. It’s a great feeling when you hear the audience laugh and travel with you because they’re the ones who took you.
What did theater mean in your life?
-Theater continues to be my way of life, my way of being, my way of thinking and above all my reality of being an actor.
-What role should theater play in times of war?
Fortunately, there are works that entertain and amuse, but the theater should never lose its feature of being the mirror of the society we live in. This makes it a very special audience.
-Does Putin have something from Adolf Hitler?
-Yes, of course. Putin believes in a superior race, his own race.