In this show, we are invited to sneak into the back room, that room reserved for games, imagination, and creativity. The room that is hidden from the neighbors' eyes and where anything can happen. This is where the writer reconnects with letters, papers, characters, and memories from her life and her literature.
The set design is spectacular: a double-height room, with stairs full of books and a bathtub in the center, the place where the protagonist bathes in her memories and her words. It's a night of insomnia, she can't sleep and has taken a pill, so we witness a night of delusions where different apparitions personify themselves in that room and accompany the author on a journey through her life and emotions.
The apparitions are by Alberto Iglesias and Nora Hernández and help give rhythm to the play, provide a counterpoint to the story, and create a common thread for Carmen's fantasies (played by Emma Suárez).
A somewhat chaotic and confusing play
The synopsis explains that El Cuarto de Atrás is a journey through light and memory, with fear of shadows and the search for meaning. And this is clearly what we see on stage. But it doesn't quite work. The narrative is a bit chaotic and the interpretations are strange and confusing.
The cast defends their roles very well: with energy, enthusiasm, and strength. But the direction of actors has not known how to take advantage of the enormous talent and has opted for an experiment that, in my opinion, does not quite work. In the case of the protagonist, they have opted for an interpretation where confusion and oblivion prevail. This forces Emma Suárez to maintain the same energy for most of the play, something that makes it become somewhat flat and repetitive. It doesn't quite hook, doesn't awaken that interest, that dramatic tension so necessary in theater.
The interpretations of the apparitions are very confusing: they make strange body movements, gestures that we don't quite understand and that break with the naturalness of the protagonist's interpretation. And, in the end, the whole doesn't fit on stage. It looks strange, confusing, and disconnected.
El Cuarto de Atrás is a work that, visually, is very attractive: with an imposing set, a good musical selection and live songs by Nora Hernández (sublime). But, the energy of the play is too overwhelming, with too much confusion and an actor's direction that does not help to connect with the characters.