- How does a bilingual production like this work?
Don't worry, everybody is going to understand it! (laughs) Most of the text is in English but mixed with a little Spanish; a few anecdotal lines that will be understood by the audience because of the universal message that enclose them. After all, Lorca's work fits perfectly in modern society.
- Fortunately enough, this play avoids clichés
And it works fantastically, as it is a universal tale of human being's feelings. The fact that the characters don't have personal names but general ones (the Mother, the Bride, etc) has obviously been made on purpose.
- Do you find many stereotypes of the Spanish culture in Australia?
To be honest, I've only been working here, so I can't really tell. Melbourne seems a cosmopolitan city with lots of different cultures in it. I've heard Spanish restaurants here cook 'new cuisine', not traditional, but unfortunately I haven't had the chance to try it myself.
- Tell us about your role of the Mother
She's an obsessed, protective, manipulative woman. She can't forgive nor forget all the bad things that happened to her, which condemns her to hate for the rest of her life. Such a bitter character.
- Are you more comfortable with comic roles then?
Not at all! Even with all my vast experience, comedy has a difficult rhythm to follow. It's also linked to intelligence, so if it's a bad comedy, nobody is going to laugh. With a bad tragedy, there could be someone touched. However, I'm not saying that playing the Mother is easy, ok?!
- Were you confident to get this role?
The castings were held in Madrid a year ago, I was surprised and excited to be chosen and to be able to travel to Australia to work. I've been in front of an audience all my life, but never so far away from home. It took me 2 weeks to get over the jetlag!
- Do you keep in contact with Spain while here?
Yes, thanks to my smart phone: Viva Viber! (laughs) I also opened a tweeter account when I arrived here one month ago for the rehearsals (@mariola_fuentes). It's keeping me updated with all the important news that the main stream media censure: unemployment rates, popular demonstrations, high taxes for cultural products such as cinema and theatre (from 8% up to 21%!)... Don't make me start, it's sad and worrying.
- What's next for you?
I will go back to the theatre play I was working on: 'Manual de la buena esposa' (The perfect wife's handbook'), a comedy about women's role in Franco's dictatorship (1939 – 1975). At that time, women were given a manual or handbook on how to clean their house and take care of their husbands. That was their role in society, so I guess it was about time we could laugh about it! It will be our second season, which is a lot taking into account the current Spanish financial crisis.
By Sara Bosch
