On Tuesday were the openings of the 28th edition of the Theatre Festival of el Sur, with Theatre form the People’s production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, written by Stephen Adly Guirgis, translated & also directed by Adán Black. The author chooses this character Judas, like he could have chosen any other character, which serves him to talk about many things that are close to us human beings of the twenty first century. And he is right on target. Judas Iscariot is a traitor, traitor par excellence. From here on, the play questions the structures of the human being, from personal thoughts towards justice in whatever it’s stratums or what seems most untouchable: the goodness of God & even his existence. Over the empty stage the story unfolds. In order to free the souls from Hell or purgatory, cases are revised on a daily basis, until we reach the traitor of the Son of God. Ten magnificent actors give life to the sixteen characters in the play. They don’t need more than an empty space to start up their machinery of their great physical language, clear diction & truth, to trap the audience in the text. Actresses & actors radiate an energy that make us laugh, cry, through a brilliant mix that balances tragedy & farce, drama & comedy, that flows to perfection under Adán Black’s direction, which transcends into the house seats from what is most visceral of the actors. All actors shine at great heights. The director uses great visuals to incorporate characters that are not called to testify & the lighting is splendid. Only say, as an anecdote, that due to the intensity of the work, one of the actors had an injury that didn’t impede him from finishing the play.

The theatre festival of el Sur, raised the curtain for it’s 28th edition, with a strong, original, controversial and eccentric production. More than one doubted about entering the theatre or not to see The Last Days of Judas Iscariot from Theatre for the People of Madrid & they came out of the theatre not just happy but delighted with the production. Before the play started there was a rumor that it ran for more than two hours, which can be a problem if the production is not entertaining, since escaping from the Reina Victoria theatre is practically mission impossible. In spite of the uncertainty generated by the rumor, there wasn’t a seat left in the house. The acting quality was guaranteed in a cast led by, María Morales & Luís Rallo, among others with enormous theatrical weight. The two hours past by flying and the audience committed to the performance from the first second, knew how to immerse itself in the satirical-cynical-sharp atmosphere in which the tragedy would move with total confidence from farce to comedy, trapping the audience within the web of an agile text and courageous acting that brought forth the trial of Judas Iscariot, in which we get to meet many historical figures such as Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Satan, Freud, or Mary Magdalene.

In Palma del Río: The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. The story doesn’t matter. What is startling and captivating is the group. Awe-struck by the direction, the scenic proposal, the clarity, the cleanness & the technical precision, the energy of actresses & actors, the great display of intelligence, voice, intention, the word is always at the height of the image: the visual, what is there to see, palpable, & the other that is born, from understanding, that finishes by seizing it all. An immensurable group of actresses & actors, in perfect state of grace, tremendous work that is fresh, where the stakes are always up, never declining not for a second. Without being able to breathe, the audience is witness to a liturgy that cannot be defeated by anyone. There exist, I can attest to it, people who live the theatre with so much truth, so much love and so much devotion. This is the best defense of a craft or profession that make us feel, without having to “understand” or “comprehend”, that the theatre is a necessary good & essential to continue living, & on occasion, like at this moment, to change some of the stupid stratums, rules & ways of the mercantile & political organizations that nest & take advantage of the defenseless of millions. It’s like this, through culture, through the theatre, how one can encourage a society to demand real justice for the world. And here, in Judas I say, in this production, Theatre for the People, they are like an open bloc, but a bloc. Permeable. Expansive. Excellent. And my fellow audience member, sitting next to me, from Córdoba saying: “I don’t know what I have just seen, but I feel such rapture, like a fire, a tachycardia that I don’t know if to laugh or cry. ¡My God, this was great!