Sixto Paz Produccions excites us again with the staging of a simple, but beautiful text; a text that speaks of you, of me and of all the anonymous people who populate this world. A text in which nothing seems to happen, but everything happens, life happens, love happens, family happens, dreams happen.
Morning Sun by Simon Stephens seems to be a tribute to humanity. But not to the great poets, musicians or actors, no: to humanity populated by us, the baker, the waitress, the street sweeper, the veterinarian. Ordinary people who are the people who sustain the world. And these people need a story, this story that can now be seen at La Villarroel.
From Edward Hopper to the stage of La Villarroel
Pau Roca directs the Catalan adaptation of Morning Sun translated by Adriana Nadal and performed by Míriam Iscla, Anna Güell and Raquel Ferri; a play whose name comes from the homonymous title of an Edward Hopper painting from 1952. The painting shows a woman sitting on the bed and letting the ray of sun at dawn warm her body.
The expression on her face is enigmatic, she is lost in her thoughts because, although to the viewer's eyes she is totally anonymous, this woman has a story, her story. The sun illuminates this figure, it gives light to this story and that is, precisely, what Stephens does in Morning Sun: he shows the story of an anonymous woman who, thanks to this ray of light, is visible, recognized and placed in the place of value she deserves.
Pau Roca, the director of the proposal, affirms it thus: "Each of our ordinary lives has an extraordinary amount of memory, loss, desire, love and mystery. And it is this mystery that traps us so much in Morning Sun, Edward Hopper's painting." Stephens does the same with Charly McBride (played by Míriam Iscla), the protagonist of his play, a woman who lives in New York and who tells us her story from when she was a child and lived with her parents until, already a mother and adult, she decides to leave the big city to move to Colorado. Any life, a common and ordinary life, but which, shown under the magnifying glass of theater and humanity, acquires the importance and value it truly has.
Interpreting from the skin and truth
Míriam Iscla gets under the skin of Charlotte or Charly. She is the daughter, but she is also the mother. She delights us with a delicate, natural interpretation, that moves between laughter and tears, between happiness and pain. Míriam Iscla is capable of taking a text and imbuing it with a humanity and truth rarely seen on stage. Nothing feels false or forced in her.
But neither in the other two actresses, Anna Güell and Raquel Ferri who recreate three women united by the ties of family and love. A story interpreted only by three women but who bring to life many more characters just with a change of body, a deeper tone of voice, a more intense gaze... On stage we see a whole selection of characters from the protagonist's life who appear in a natural, organic way and without the rhythm being lost at any moment. But the weight of the performance, of the drama and of the emotion falls on them, on the women of the family.
Family as a refuge
The family bond is very well reflected in this work. This relationship based on trust, affection, support, reproaches and a lot, a lot, of love. Family as a refuge, as a nest to go to when your wings are broken. It may be that, sometimes, family hurts, but the support it gives, the relief it offers and the trunk it holds is what helps us to stay on our feet.
Charly's mother shows her fascination for extraordinary people, artists, people who do things that seem impossible. But Charly launches a defense of mundane lives, those lives that may seem mediocre, but that enclose a story full of love, overcoming, struggle, strength, sadness, pain, love, love and more love. "Why do you only focus on the story of artists, poets, painters?", the mother asks her daughter and alleges that, in the end, the everyday is what sustains the world. And it seems we don't realize this until they disappear.
Common people disappear and, then, you realize how much they influenced you. These insignificant people disappear and you realize the power, the presence and everything they meant to you, to your world, your universe, your authentic life. If common people disappear from the world, from society, we will also realize how necessary they are: we need everyone, poets and sweepers, those who sing and those who clean. And we all always need the same trunk: mothers, daughters, family, love, which is what truly sustains absolutely everything.
The unmistakable seal of Sixto Paz
Another of the most outstanding points of Morning Sun is the inclusion of metatheatre. Throughout the play, the actresses make some asides, stepping out of the story, of the fictional plot, to speak directly with the audience or to comment among themselves on the story they are narrating. This resource gives naturalness, veracity and a touch of humor to the plot and helps to reduce tension or drama in some scenes.
This seal is characteristic of Sixto Paz Produccions, a production company that has accustomed us to bringing to the stage stories overflowing with naturalness, tenderness and a touch of humor that makes life more pleasant and beautiful.
Embracing what is important
After seeing Morning Sun at La Villarroel you get up from your seat, take the metro and arrive home. And, even if you still have the same problems at work, with money or with love, you open the door, hug your family and feel that you have absolutely everything. Because succeeding is not about having triumphant careers, or shining on a stage; succeeding in life is having the love of your mother, your father, your grandparents, your children or your friends. And the rest... The rest is literature.
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