Manuel Fraga was one of the fathers of the Spanish Constitution; creator of the Alianza Popular party (forerunner of the current PP); One of the most media ministers of the Franco dictatorship and president of the Xunta de Galicia for 16 years. But beyond this mini-biography stretch tentacles of data about a controversial figure loved by thousands and hated by many others. It is now the central object of a game‘Iribarne’ from Butaca Zero This work is staged in Madrid in a co-production with the National Dramatic Center and the Ribadavia International Theater Festival. It is another example of the strength of Galician theater abroad.
The show, directed by Xavier Castiñeira and written by Esther F. Carrodeguas, is on stage. At the Valle-Inclán Theater in the Spanish capital until November 12. Then it will be time to prepare a Galician version for the northwest tour, which will begin in January, which will be flavored with performances in other ensembles, including the Basque Country (Teatro Arriaga in Bilbao). “I can’t say the dates yet,” says Carrodeguas.
The company itself guarantees that it is a “crazy piece”. “We dance, we act, we have music with Berto’s music. Some songs are already on Spotify; The rest leave at the end of the week when the tour ends in Madrid. Using these trap-inspired melodies, Sabela Domínguez designed the choreographies with a walking dance style. We are running away from the music of Fraga’s time. “Although we have an older audience who have experienced the Transition, the show is designed in contemporary language to tell the story to young people,” says Esther Carrodeguas.
The playwright admits that it is a “a complex show and a big project for a small company Like yours. He underlines that they are very “happy” with the reception: “Every day – the first screening was on October 12 – there are people standing and applauding. “This is comforting.”
It is not a biographical work
There are six artists on stage, including Carrodeguas. Both he and the rest of the cast, consisting of Xurxo Cortázar, Jorge de Arcos, Mónica García, Anxo Outumuro and Lidia Veiga, bring Fraga to life in different moments and periods. “There is a small scene about his childhood and his birth in 1922, but then he moves on to his political life. Actually, we don’t discuss his private life much. Characters such as the King, Felipe Suárez, Pérez Varela, Rajoy, Pujol appear before us… We all play Fraga. Even though we talked about his life, we did not understand the work biographically. We do not include personal things like his birth. her children or her wedding. The aim was to explore the politics of the years in which he was active. None of us wear makeup or prepare to look like Fraga. We used in the first part braces Spain as a source element that points to the person wearing these as Fraga’s character. “He has an unrealistic background.”
“This is a very little comedy”
Whether you come to Madrid this week or watch from Galicia starting in January, a very funny work will be waiting for you in your seats. “It’s about interpreting Fraga’s life. Both we and the viewers say that this is a very crazy comedy. There is a lot of satire,” warns Carrodeguas.
In the previous months while Esther was preparing the script, the author admitted to this newspaper that she was overwhelmed by the enormous amount of information she had accessed about Fraga.
“I was overwhelmed until it premiered, and I still am, because it’s possible we could make changes for the re-release in Galicia. The translation needs to be done, although some parts are still in Spanish so it makes more sense. There were a lot of documents missing, five more theater pieces could have been done,” says Carrodeguas.