Tots Ocells: Wajdi Mouawad’s monumental play, staged by La Perla 29

A searing theme that places us squarely within the bloody, unending conflict between Israel and Palestine. All of it conveyed through language steeped in poetry, with deeply human characters riddled with contradictions and bound – as well as torn apart – by a singular emotion: love.

Tots Ocells is an exceptional production: three and a half hours that slip by in a breath. That is the hallmark of Mouawad’s pen: a consummate gift for sustaining suspense, intrigue, and dramatic tension right to the final line. It possesses a relentless pace that grips the audience, making it impossible to look away from the stage or the ensemble.

The play follows Eitan, a young Jewish man living in New York and conducting university research in genetics. There, he crosses paths with Wahida, a young woman raised in the United States who is of Arab descent. She is also working at the university, writing her doctoral dissertation on a 16th-century humanist forced to convert to Christianity to gain acceptance.

The two fall in love viscerally and unconditionally, but Eitan’s family vehemently opposes the relationship. The reason? He comes from a Jewish home and she represents the enemy: an Arab woman. In the wake of this bitter divide, Eitan travels to Israel to seek out his grandmother and untangle several family secrets, only to be caught in a terrorist attack that leaves him in a coma for four days.

Love, prejudice, and violence: the cornerstones of Tots Ocells

In Tots Ocells, we encounter a human kaleidoscope that reveals the strengths and frailties shared by all of us as individuals and citizens. We love our families, yet we demand they conform to how we believe they should be – upholding our family and community values. It is a stifling weight passed down through generations, at once suffocating and debilitating.

This pressure spills beyond the domestic sphere into "our community", where we are likewise expected to satisfy rigid codes, expectations, and duties. Stray from them, and you become an outcast, a pariah, misunderstood, forever adrift between two shores: the world supposedly yours, and the one forbidden to you. It is in these turbulent waters that Eitan navigates and ultimately founders.

Mouawad’s text is rich in symbolism and metaphor, using birds as emblems of freedom and the amphibious bird as an allegory for mutation – an uncanny yet vital metamorphosis in life.

Masterful performances that stir the emotions

Miriam Moukhles, Guillem Balart, Joan Carreras, Clara Segura, Màrcia Cisteró, Xavier Boada, Marissa Josa, and Xavier Ruano make up the cast bringing the characters of Tots Ocells to life. Their grounded, natural performances allow the audience to empathise throughout with the grief and contradictions tearing these families apart.

We understand the young lovers (Miriam Moukhles and Guillem Balart) who champion their devotion against all odds. Yet we also grasp the painful legacy and deep-seated rancour entrenching Eitan’s family (Joan Carreras and Clara Segura as his parents; Xavier Boada as his grandfather) – even as the racism and hatred pouring from the father’s mouth provoke genuine revulsion. This emotional whirlwind pulls us directly into the heart of a family fractured by hate, yet still tethered by a tenuous thread of love.

Miriam Moukhles is a revelation: an actress whose presence and expressive power captivate from her very first entrance – an opening scene in which she utters not a single word, yet commands complete attention.

Flawless direction and staging that enrich the drama

Oriol Broggi directs Tots Ocells, crafting a staging whose momentum never falters as it transports us across disparate settings: the library (a gorgeous opening sequence), the hospital room, the grandmother's weathered home, and a local café.

Yet what stands out most in this staging is the decision to project surtitles in the original languages. While the play is translated into Catalan by Cristina Genebat, the screens reveal the tongue each character would authentically be speaking. This choice sharpens our appreciation of the linguistic, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds of each figure, laying bare the frictions and misunderstandings born of language barriers.

Furthermore, the staging pairs live stage action with simultaneous live video projections across the auditorium's screens. This technique lends the production a cinematic texture, offering intimate, unobstructed access to the actors’ subtle expressions, reactions, and measured performances even when their backs are turned or they are angled away from the house.

Tots Ocells is a tour de force – essential theatre that speaks with urgent relevance today as brutality and violence once again ravage Israel and Palestine. The production stands as an eloquent testament to love and shared humanity. May we all become amphibious birds, claiming the freedom to fly and swim across the entire world.