Following the acclaimed success of Lorca’s jewel A Moonless Night, theater director and actor Sergio Peris-Mencheta guides Steffano Massini’s Lehman Trilogy adaptation, back on stage with Juan Diego Botto, in a project that reimagines history through a musical lens. The performance is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on March 17 and 18 at the Cuyás Theater, presenting the origin story of English women’s football during the First World War in a vivid, musical format.
How did the idea arise to bring to life the secret history of a feminist movement on stage with Women’s Football Club?
There has long been a collaborative thread with Massini, who has shared works as they were being developed. His packages often spotlight historical blind spots, stories that are overlooked or flattened, and they approach each narrative as a grand fairy tale. Massini’s examination of capitalism in Lehman Trilogy left a lasting impression, and the forthcoming project centers on the women who dominated headlines and stadiums a century ago, now largely forgotten. The exploration feels urgent and resonant, hinting at a history that still speaks to contemporary concerns.
Why convert this four-hour monologue into a chorus featuring at least eleven actresses?
Hauling eleven women onto a single stage is ambitious. It isn’t common to see such a cast in one scene, and it comes with high costs and complexity. Yet the prospect was irresistibly compelling. The pair recognized the risk but trusted the story’s power and the audience’s potential appetite. If the public embraced it, the project would justify itself; if not, it would still stand as a bold artistic statement.
Many projects by this team carry a critical perspective or social message. Is theater inherently political?
All theater carries a point of view. Even a divorce drama can be seen through a political lens. While there is a preference to avoid pamphleteering, the creator consistently strives to be candid about personal beliefs and the times they inhabit. The company often selects stories that reflect what happened and what remains relevant today, like the way certain narratives echo into the present. The approach blends historical reflection with a direct engagement with current reality, inviting audiences to find their own connection with the material. The collaboration with Barco Pirata remains a core identity, and the team hopes the performances travel widely, with audiences leaving engaged and moved by the storytelling. The central aim remains to tell a story that matters on stage.
Paying tribute to Lorca’s Moonless Night, the project garnered unanimous theatrical support even among traditionalists. How did that consensus emerge?
The creators describe the process as a focused period of immersion, a commitment to telling a nuanced, multi-voiced story with a lean, powerful montage. The intention is to avoid comparison with earlier successes while still honoring their legacy. The latest work, like its predecessor, emphasizes simplicity in form paired with a storytelling conviction that speaks to the Spain of today. It treats the past and the present as connected, suggesting that some histories remain buried yet continue to shape the future. The aim is a truthful, open conversation about national memory and the path toward a freer, more honest future.
Looking ahead, could the messages in a historical tale mirror current resistance to feminism?
There is a clear parallel: progress has often been slower than hoped, and the production intentionally centers eleven women not only because the story is true but also because the themes resonate with the actresses themselves. The cast members confront real-world experiences—breaks in work, motherhood, age—that echo the struggles faced by women in the industry. The rehearsal room becomes a space where personal histories intersect with the play’s narrative, yielding a shared memory that enriches the performance. The production process becomes a journey toward echoes that stay with the audience long after the curtain falls. In moments of world events, like a wartime conflict or contemporary triumphs in women’s sports, the connection feels almost synchronous—proof that theater can reflect and shape reality in meaningful ways.
As a director, how does the process evolve with each project?
The adaptation begins with a clear motive: why tell this story now, and what personal truth does it reveal? The director sees every phase as a path to illuminate a facet of the tale. A preference emerges for an eco-theatrical approach—using simple tools to spark a vivid inner experience. The aim is to invite the audience to actively imagine the space between the stage and the viewer, rather than layering on elaborate media. The magic of theater lies in leaving room for the audience to complete the story, inviting engagement and interpretation. When a project leans into cinematic techniques, the spectacle can overwhelm the intimate, but theater thrives on suggestion, memory, and the mental collaboration between performer and spectator. In this sense, the craft remains vibrant and essential, inviting the audience to participate in a living, evolving narrative.