“Enthusiasm”: from Malasagna to Sancinaro… Then what? | Babylia

Pablo Raymond wrote in a forum post last year in Babylia That Uncle Vanya is a character who “has the feeling of being cheated (…) This scam is ultimately a scam of time. Time is slipping away from Vanya.” The article was about the very free adaptation of a Chekhov work that the Madrid playwright and director had released shortly before, in a four-hour production in which Raymond demonstrated his extraordinary ability to connect classic theatrical themes with a contemporary sensibility.

your new setup, Enthusiasm, Return to this scam: the one you discover when you reach what they call “middle age.” The action begins in particular with an advertising plane crossing the sky with a sign reading: “They are scamming you.” But this time the heroes do not live in a 19th-century Russian dacha, but in the urban area of ​​Sanchinaro, the epitome of PAU culture in 21st-century Madrid.

They are very special characters and Raymond does not need to make an effort for us, the viewers, to connect with them: he serves us our lives on a silver platter. We see the main couple rushing to take the children to school, stressed and frustrated with work, suffering from insomnia, apathy, and longing for the exuberance of youth in the attics and gambling dens of the Malasaña neighborhood. The male character, the writer who cannot produce his second novel and makes his living as a teacher, could be a version of the author. It is possible that the woman, a journalist working for the newspaper EL PAÍS, is signing this review.

All this makes Enthusiasmlike all of Raymond’s work, is a very enjoyable show. But also fairly straightforward. Perhaps specifically because of how recognizable the characters are. We are missing a point of distance, a dramatic journey, a spark that takes us beyond what we already know or experience daily. It also gives the impression that there will come a time when the same thing happens to the author as happened to the protagonists: he gets stuck in clichés, doesn’t know how to continue, and it ends up dragging on for a long time. The last half hour adds a little.

Beyond that, Raymond once again assembles a well-crafted montage on all fronts: script, staging, and interpretation. In the field of writing, he stands out for the intelligence with which he presents situations, the ambitious plot structure, and the bold combination of narration, acting, and storytelling. This sophisticated combination, combined with scenography that perfectly translates the dramatic ideal, elevates the work above the level of costume.

In this production, the author redoubles his commitment to humor and conquers the audience with gags that play on clichés. For example, when the novel’s heroine invites us to imagine her holding half a banana in her hand on one of her endless evenings with other women transfixed by motherhood. Or when she later speaks sarcastically about the extremely boring life in urbanism, the gilded cage of middle-class women. At the same time, her husband is suffering because his second novel has not been published.

But Raymond’s turns need skilled partners on stage. Actors Francisco Carril, Natalia Hernandez, Raul Brito, and Marina Salas are more than capable: they jump from register to register with such naturalness that we are almost unaware of the complex structure of the work.