Women who ended up imprisoned in the Trinitat prison, in Barcelona; a center commanded by nuns who acted as their inquisitors with a clear objective: to cleanse their minds of "red" ideas and guide them along the straight and Christian path. For this reason, most of the prisoners were young university girls whose "crime" had been nothing more than distributing leaflets or participating in demonstrations.
Dones Lliures features testimonies that break the silence
The scenic proposal presents us with different women, real people whom the company La Voz Ahogada has interviewed to gather their testimony, and who come to life on stage thanks to the interpretation of the two leading actresses. We see different personalities, energies, and memories that depict this part of history, silenced and disparaged for decades.
Because many things happened during Franco's regime, too many… And the imprisonment of women remained just another event, almost invisible. But the lives of all of them were cut short by that confinement in which they were treated as a plague to be combated.
In this process, they suffered torture and abuse inside the Via Laietana police station, a place that is still active today and was a symbol of repression. A police station that should be closed and converted into historical memory, but it is still there, standing, with a plaque commemorating the victims that has had to be replaced 15 times because "someone" breaks or burns it. Fascism, sadly, remains latent in our city.
The lump in the throat and the shadow of the "pieces"
The play covers the late Francoism showing us voices that today remain strong and proud, but also others whose voices still tremble and who feel a lump in their throat when remembering it. The pain and abuse of power were the tune of an era that, to this day, remains hidden and present in our institutions.
It is documentary theater that does not focus on dramatism or victimism, but on the real story. The counterpoint of the fascist character who draws the chronological picture is very effective; it provides a satirical tone that shows that Franco's shadow is still among us. Because, as they rightly say in the play, "Franco did not die: he exploded into pieces," and those pieces are part of the State that was founded after his death.
The weight of La Modelo
La Voz Ahogada has managed to create a show full of truth that restores the dignity of those people whose rights were violated. As they say in the production: to be able to turn the page of historical memory, we first have to read that page.
Seeing Dones lliures in La Model prison in Barcelona, where there was also a module for these women, makes the work even more powerful. Now we occupy these corridors as spectators but, until not long ago, these walls were witnesses to the persecution of innocents who only wanted freedom.