Dressed in contemporary clothes, without brands, without ostentation, he enters the stage. He sits in a rocking chair. He waits. A few minutes pass. He gets up. He goes to the other side of the stage and suddenly... magic!
"Do you want some tea, Miquel?"
Suddenly, Marina appears on stage. A change in voice tone, a way of speaking, a gesture... and Joel Joan introduces us to the first character... and then appear Miquel, Vània, Marina, Sònia, Saúl, Helena... all interpreted by Joel Joan who makes them present before us on stage... who makes us see them even if there is only an empty space.
Joel Joan embodies eight characters in Vània, a revision of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya
Ivan (Vània) and Sònia live on the family estate and make it profitable, working from dawn to dusk, to pay Alexandre, a recognized successful filmmaker. A hard life but one that gives them a certain security, a certain tranquility... and a very large existential void.
"Nothing, Miquel, everything is exactly the same as always."
The arrival of Alexander and his new wife, much younger than him, will make the apparent tranquility break into a thousand pieces. Miquel feels attracted to Helena. Sònia loves Miquel but he does not love her. Vània had dreams and has buried them with the potatoes... and Alexander has failed in everything he has done and now only lives on memories of a past time that he remembers as much better.
Ivan and Sònia, moreover, now know that all the work they have done for Alexander has been in vain. They have sacrificed themselves for someone else's dream and, in reality, everything is a nightmare.
“Since I've known him, he hasn't stopped rambling about beauty in cinema and aesthetics in art… but he doesn't have a clue”
Set design that seems like another character in the play
The set design that seems half-finished, with one part very well done and the other only basted and some props that mix current elements with elements that could be from an old farmhouse and a bunch of visible spotlights. A set design that seems like another character in the play… that, like everyone, wants and hurts. A success.
The lighting shows us the passage of time, day, night, storm… the changes of act, without the need for a curtain or a total blackout.
Very good adaptation by Simon Stephens
The text is a very good adaptation by Simon Stephens who, here, enjoys a very good translation by Joan Sellent, who has taken care of the references so that we can identify them with our environment and our world. A good work that shines on stage.
Nelson Valente and Joel Joan: a splendid tandem
Nelson Valente has made a very good choice with Joel Joan. The direction is precise and allows Joel Joan to be immense on stage. A splendid performance, full of nuances, full of flexibility. Joel Joan puts himself in the shoes of all the characters and needs nothing more than his talent and his savoir faire.
The Joel Joan and Nelson Valente tandem works very well. The director has managed to give the play the tone of routine tragedy and, at the same time, has also given it a touch of humor and tenderness that makes us love these characters who seem condemned to emptiness.
Joel Joan gives us a masterful lesson in theater
Joel Joan has taken the text and the characters and given them body. Body and soul. His interpretation is not limited to bringing the characters to the stage. He gives them personality, he gives them depth. And he does it almost naked. Because he needs nothing for them to appear before us. The characters only need someone like Joel Joan to have life and live it.
A life that, in the end, leaves them at the same point where they are.
“We must live. We will continue to live, Uncle Ivan.”
Vània, at the Teatre Romea, is a perfect opportunity to see an immense work of interpretation. Joel Joan embroiders the text, embroiders the characters. Joel Joan gives us a masterful lesson in theater.
“We will continue paying your rent as always, so you don't have to worry about that. Everything will continue as always.”