“we don’t understand anything‘ and ‘a very strange decision’ comments monopolized most of the conversations in the groups at the door of the Canal Theaters this Thursday, minutes before the 41st edition. Autumn Festivalperson who lifts the curtain liebestod, by Angelica Liddell. Comments reflecting the confusion experienced in the theater profession following the decision Ministry of Culture of the Community of Madrid To elect its founder as the director of the festival in 2024, Pilar of YzaguirreHe is 87 years old, it was announced by the Minister of Culture. Mariano de Pacoin a statement made last Monday, three days before the competition opened.
Also among these groups was its current manager. Alberto ConejeroEl Periódico de España of the Prensa Ibérica group, without wanting to enter into evaluations of his successor, made it clear: He never informed the council that he did not wish to continue running the festival, as published in some media, and asked the Community of Madrid to continue the nine projects currently ongoing for the next edition. Confusion about Mariano de Paco’s decision was compounded by its confirmation. The consultant did not attend the opening of the festival, as is customary in each edition by the person responsible for the Culture of the Community. He was simply sitting next to Conejero in the protocol chairs of the Red Room of the Teatros del Canal. Elena RamosGeneral Director of Culture and Tourism of Madrid.
This move by the Madrid Community, whose successor has not yet been announced to the public, Blanca Li He is at the helm of the Teatros del Canal, but it consists of neither the “renovation” of the theater nor the “expansion of its artistic content” that De Paco announced last month, the decision was made this week. Natalia Menendez Decision not to renew his contract as director of the Spanish Theater Cultural area of the Madrid City Council who is driving Marta Rivera de la Cruz.
Why? Disagreement with the new model designed by the cultural delegate It aims to separate Naves 11 and 10 of Matadero from the Spanish and create a new dance center and another center for contemporary textual theater respectively, each has its own artistic direction. While Menéndez’s decision was announced to the public last Wednesday at the presentation of the exhibition commemorating the 440-year history of the Spanish Theatre, Rivera de la Cruz answered “No” to Efe agency’s questions about whether the City Council would replace the director with another director. .
Movements in both the City Council and the PP-led Community already hint at a political strategy in the field of theater that suggests more questions than certainty, and which neither administration is willing to explain in detail to this newspaper.
Autumn Festival looks to the past, not the future
Last Monday, three days before the start of the Autumn Festival, the Community of Madrid announced that Pilar de Yzaguirre will take over Alberto Conejero as artistic director in 2024. In the statement made by the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sports, Mariano de Paco, the following statements were made: Next year the Community of Madrid will celebrate a special edition dedicated to De Yzaguirre, who co-founded the festival in 1984.In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the competition. In his statements to the media, De Paco assured that De Yzaguirre, who founded the festival in 1984, represents the “prestige and knowledge” gained during so much “remitting work and research”, and emphasized that the Community of Madrid “is betting on this”. everything thanks to the avant-garde and innovation, but also because of the necessary importance of cultural and heritage tradition, because “some cannot be understood without others.”
Playwright, poet and stage director Alberto Conejero was appointed director of the competition in 2020 by direct appointment and without public competition by the then Minister of Culture Marta Rivera de la Cruz, the current Culture delegate of the Madrid City Council. His contract, which expires every December 31, was renewed annually, so his departure constitutes neither a layoff nor a dismissal. Last July, Burgos city council of Briviesca, run by PP, cancels its work The Sea: The vision of children who have never seen it, Written and directed with Xavier Bobésaround the republican teacher figure Antoni Benaiges. The playwright described online the anomaly that the party that appointed him director of the Autumn Festival canceled him: “No one asked me to give up my principles, no one asked for a license from me, and there was no interference with me in my creative work or as artistic director.”
If the Autumn Festival will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2024, it will already celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2023. Conejero explained in this newspaper that he did this “in tribute to the men and women who served in this position before me” and that is why Robert Lepage came on this occasion: “Pilar de Yzaguirre was the first to bring this and we all remember him Dragon Trilogy At the Alamo in 2003.”
Possible conflict of interest
“Mariano de Paco called me a month ago and told me to do the festival I wanted,” Pilar de Yzaguirre told this newspaper in a telephone interview last Tuesday. De Yzaguirre, who has been in charge of his own production company Ysarca since 1990, was the architect of the Spanish premiere of the film. firesrelated to Wajdi Mouawadand distributes Lepage and Wilson—explains that he sees no problem planning them for next year’s edition of the Autumn Festival, which he will direct: “That has nothing to do with it. I won’t be at Ysarca, but I will be running the festival. ¿How could I not take my best three? Of course”.
Don’t you find it incompatible to program the artists you distribute? “One thing is clear. What I know is that I have been working with Robert (Lepage) for many years and we have already become friends and we know how we work, how to respond to the wishes of the director or the environment in the city.” When asked by this newspaper about this possible conflict of interest, a spokesman for the department headed by Mariano de Paco explains: “As always, the Community of Madrid is the party that contracts directly with the companies, so There is no conflict of interest as no one is hired through their production company.”.
It is true that none of the directors of the Autumn Festival signed contracts with companies individually and that these were formalized through Madrid, Culture and Tourism, but it is also true that most of these contracts were managed with the artists’ distributors. They receive commission from their customers. According to sources consulted by this newspaper, alarms were also raised within the festival team about this possible conflict of interest.
Slaughterhouse is being discussed again
Until last Monday, Marta Rivera de la Cruz and Natalia Menéndez were negotiating the renewal of their contracts as directors of Teatro Español. On the table is the Cultural delegate’s project to de-Spanish the 10th and 11th Naves of Matadero and transform them into independent production and exhibition centers dedicated to contemporary textual theater (Spanish and European) and dance, respectively. Each of the centers has its own artistic orientation, but Here’s the reason for the discrepancy between Menéndez and the team (technicians, production, etc.) he shared for Español and Nave 10. According to sources consulted by this newspaper, Español’s lack of its own independent team on this new project was the reason why Menéndez decided to resign from continuing to manage the theatre. Cruz Last Wednesday, they wanted to explain what they were hiding behind the euphemism “problems of an administrative and bureaucratic nature.”
in their time Manuela Carmena in the town hall, Part of Madrid theater frontally opposes Mateo Feijóo’s living arts project Something similar to what is currently being proposed in Matadero, with the proposal to devote Nave 11 to dance, as the text denounces that they reserve space for theatre. But that’s not the only thing in the air. But that’s not the only thing in the air. Marta Rivera de la Cruz, who admitted that there will be no one else to replace Natalia Menéndez, has a lot of work to do in the coming weeks. In addition to naming those responsible for each area (no one expects there to be a public tender) and reporting the budget this new project will have – data that this newspaper requested and that the Ministry of Culture refused to provide – with We are facing renovation work in the direction of other performance areas affiliated with the City CouncilMost of them will end soon. The Culture Department of the City Council also did not want to give information to this newspaper about the issue, but the current situation contrasts with those responsible for every theater and festival.
Laila Ripollmanager Fernán Gómez TheaterIt has already been reported that Rivera de la Cruz, whose contract expires in December, will not continue to manage the theater because he is looking for “another profile.” Angel Murciamanager Village Summers, is awaiting the renewal of his contract, but everything seems to indicate that he will continue to lead the competition. Also follow Beatriz deTorresmanager Quinta de los Molinos Open SpaceHe signed a new two-year contract last March, before municipal and regional elections. WITH Natalia Álvarez Simómanager counting the dukeThe council has verbally communicated its intention for him to continue as director but is waiting to sign off on the renewal. And finally Maria Folgueramanager Price Circus TheaterHis contract expires on December 31, and as of today, Rivera doesn’t know if de la Cruz wants to continue to trust him.