Nuestros Actos Occultos at Alicante Colosseum: a tense, genre-blending stage journey

Carmen Machi consistently draws large crowds whenever she takes the stage, and at the Alicante Colosseum this trend held steady for the road play Nuestros Actos Occultos, directed by Argentinian theater-maker Lautaro Perotti. The narrative unfolds through Elisa Sanz’s stage space, a triptych that shifts between the present, six months prior, and two years earlier. This structure signals a rupture in both dramaturgy and visual direction, inviting the audience to observe how memory disturbs the current moment. The plot spirals from a desperate escape by car after a traumatic incident, a device that exposes the fragility and resilience of human bonds. A family drama threads through the story: the daughter of a close friend of a woman is struggling with alcohol and illness, setting up a tense dynamic between the two women, who clash yet depend on one another. The tension evolves into a blend of black comedy and social realism, revealing how genre lines blur under pressure. The piece moves across genres in a way that feels natural, not forced, and the journey toward the finale becomes both a physical odyssey and a psychological one. Alongside Machi, Santi Marín and Macarena García contribute performances that add texture to the ensemble. García offers moments of controlled intensity akin to controlled detonations, while Marín embodies a measured restraint that keeps the emotional landscape steady. The police presence is minimized, adding an air of mystery and suggestion rather than overt exposition. Visually the production leans toward cinematic rhythm, underpinned by the actors’ commitment and the director’s instinct for pacing. The audience response in Alicante was unabated—an energetic, sustained applause that reflected a strong connection with the characters and the material. Yet, some observers felt the dramatic pull did not fully sustain its own promise, with a few viewers sensing a chilly atmosphere and a degree of detachment that limited the overarching conviction. Critics note that the work achieves a striking mood through its stark, intimate moments and the interplay of raw emotion with darker humor, even as it occasionally loosens its grip on the audience’s sustained engagement. The result is a production that feels consequential and ambitious, capable of prompting thoughtful reflection on the pressures that shape intimate relationships and the boundaries people cross when confronted with fear, desire, and consequence. The performances anchor the piece, offering a compelling meditation on responsibility, risk, and the often contradictory nature of human impulse, while the stagecraft sustains a cinematic tempo that keeps the story propulsive from start to finish. In this way Nuestros Actos Occultos emerges as a saturated mix of realism and moral inquiry, anchored by a strong central performance and reinforced by an ensemble that navigates the shifting tones with care, even as some moments drift toward a cooler tonal center for broader effect. Attribution: contemporary theater review [source provided by the event organizers].