An explosive, charged love story unfolds through the reality of a fierce correspondence, now transformed into a stage production. The dramatic adaptation, Casares-Camus: a love story, is directed by Mario Gas and features Rosa Renom and Jordi Boixaderas in lead roles.
It is hailed as one of the most emotional narratives of the 20th century. The letters connect Albert Camus and María Casares, two formidable artists whose lives intersected under the shadow of a world at war. Casares, a Spanish Nobel laureate who found exile in France, is the daughter of the former president of the republic, Santiago Casares Quiroga. Their relationship blossomed as Europe trembled, seemingly a beacon amid the chaos of a continent under threat.
Gas has shaped this adaptation from the acclaimed collection, which will be published in Catalan. Teatre Lliure hopes to present the show in Barcelona through January 21 before touring Madrid and other cities at a later date. For now, the Barcelona premiere marks a revealing excursion into the remarkable bond between the Nobel laureate and the eminent actress, a bond born in a time of upheaval. Galicia is named as the birthplace of a complex, European narrative.
Q. All the letters speak of love. It is a long and steady correspondence that rings with emotion.
A. Every lasting love carries its own miracle. Yet daily life also writes its share of endings and reunions. The pair navigates a fateful rhythm of meetings, farewells, and coincidences. At one point, a reading of a Picasso play brings María to Camus, who awkwardly reads the stage directions. They meet, connect, and soon begin an affair that culminates when Camus confesses the need to see his wife. Four years later, on a chance encounter along Boulevard Saint Germain in 1948, a relationship takes root and endures until Camus’s untimely death. It was intense and intimate, challenging in modern terms for its emotional depth and its complexity. The bond is described as provocative and extraordinary: they depend on one another, pursue one another, and endure dark moments of reproach, yet their connection remains steadfast. The letters often record a maximum of three messages per day, depicting a love that feels both miraculous and unbreakable.
Q. The period of uncertainty in Paris and across Europe makes the letters feel almost prophetic about love.
A. Camus joins the Resistance, prints a secret newspaper, and moves within a landscape of violence. Yet within that turmoil, their relationship embodies a deeply physical, mental, and spiritual love. It is not merely a raw passion; it reflects a mutual devotion that creates a sanctuary amid barbarism.
S. The booklet prepared for the performance, curated by Rosa Renom, notes that the romance began at a moment when the war was at its peak, on June 6, 1944.
A. The night they first made love coincided with Europe unraveling, Allied forces pressing forward, and a continent in upheaval. In that climate, these two figures forge a bond that anchors human history and, in a way, makes love itself a form of resilience.
I had the opportunity to speak with María Casares up close. She was striking, with a gravelly voice, a relentless smoker, an extraordinary actress, and a very strong woman.
Question: You were born in Uruguay, four years after that moment. What do both characters mean to you in this staging?
R. The moment is vivid: Camus’s death was announced on Spanish National Radio when the narrator was still a teenager. The speaker recalls a time when Camus was a familiar figure in theatrical circles, known for Caligula and his existentialist dialogues with Sartre. Reading Sisyphus and other works deepened that fascination. The decision to mount a montage with these letters came with a sense of responsibility. María Casares was seen as a theater legend, a Spanish actress who became more French than the French themselves. The experience of watching him on stage in Paris, and later sharing a meal in Barcelona, left a lasting impression of a woman of formidable presence and a voice that could cut through any crowd.
Question: The letters reveal more than love; they speak of family and origin.
A. María’s roots stretch from Mahón in her mother’s homeland to her Algerian-French father. She was the daughter of a former leader of the Spanish Republic, and her life bridged multiple worlds. In the letters, care for relatives and a shared sense of duty appear alongside artistic conversation about theater and literature. The Algerian side notes that talking to actors is often more straightforward than engaging with intellectuals, but both modes of conversation reveal vitality and immediacy in performance.
Mario Gaz. José Luis Roca
Q. Do arrogance and pride appear within the correspondence?
A. The correspondence reveals two formidable people who work, love, and support one another. Their dialogue explores their shared love and the growth it inspires, often more through action than through words written on paper.
Q. The letters also address fear beyond the wartime threat.
R. When love faces strain, Camus protects his family ties. He feels loneliness and longing, yet creates a space where both material and spiritual needs can be met even in absence. The letters present a love that endures, a testament to resilience amid hardship, described as an earthquake-proof romance.
In some readings, the relationship is seen as toxic, yet it remains uniquely powerful, a pairing of two individuals who express a profound love.
Q. Some readers may claim they did not understand the letters at all.
A. It is possible that some will misread or dismiss the intensity. Still, the couple’s bond stands as a singular expression of affection—bright, unyielding, and undeniable. Their letters reveal a deep, lasting love that persists even as life rearranges itself around them.
Q. When Camus received the Nobel Prize in 1957, a telegram exclaimed, “Nobel Prize! What a party, what a young winner, what a party!” On December 30, 1959, the eve of a tragic accident, he wrote to María about longing and reunion, a promise to persevere in the face of absence and distance. The letters collectively affirm a love that travels across time and memory.
C. The range of feelings in the correspondence is vast. While some entries echo repeated themes of devotion, others confront the complexities of love, fear, and separation. Yet the overarching sense remains—two people who chose to keep one another close, even when circumstances tested every boundary.