An unfinished novel always poses a challenge, even more so if it is written by Jane Austen, a universal author who has captivated countless readers generation after generation with her ironic comedies. Known for titles such as Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Persuasion, the British writer began to weave a new story in The Watsons, now recovered in Catalan by the Cal Carré publishing house with translation by Núria Sales, but she abandoned it when she had only written a few chapters. It is not known why she did not continue it; rumor has it that it too closely resembled her own life, but, by keeping the manuscript in a drawer, she also left the fate of her characters in the air, with Emma and her sisters waiting to find a husband to secure their future.
It is there that director Josep Maria Mestres, based on the work of playwright Laura Wade, brings to the stage of the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya (TNC) a cast of almost 20 actors, with big names like Mercè Arànega and Lluïsa Castell, in addition to the fleeting appearance of Jordi Banacolocha, also giving space to emerging profiles such as Laia Manzanares and Paula Malia. Mestres was captivated when he read how Wade had finished Austen's novel. "She tries to find a worthy ending for the characters and today's audience, with a lot of theatricality and a sense of humor. It is a luminous and rich work," explains Mestres, who was supervised by Wade's representatives to ensure that he did not change a single comma. Its director does not want to reveal many details of the plot, with the surprise effect as the best asset of the adaptation, breaking the moral norms of the era in which it was written and making it much more than an Austenian play, endowing it with a feminist perspective that the author, probably without being aware of it, anticipated.
Premiered in 2018 in London, the play has arrived this season at the TNC and has been sold out for over a week. "It's a celebration and it's beautiful to see people join in the game we propose. Theater doesn't change your life, but it gives you tools to face it. Fiction is very powerful," remarks Mestres. Faithful to Austen's universe, the pompous dresses and formal dances take over the beginning of the play, a pure theatrical adaptation of the hundred pages she wrote, drawing from the cinematic memories of the multiple adaptations that have been made of her works, knowing that, when the two protagonists look at each other, the world stops and their surroundings fall silent. And there are plenty of nods, from the famous phrase "It is a truth universally acknowledged..." to more recent ones like the movie Oppenheimer. "It has many layers of reading, but above all there is much respect and admiration for Jane Austen," adds Mestres.
Between philosophical comedy and comedy of errors, through characters who seek their story and discuss the established order and the meaning of life, the strong point of Els Watson is a choral staging, accompanied by impressive set design and costumes. A numerous and diverse cast, with ages ranging from 8 to 80 years old, something unusual to see in Barcelona. "It's an obligation," defends its director, "not only to give work to actors but to offer a show with substance. The more transversal the cast, the better. It's a plus for the spectator." A commitment that coincides with the Macbeth at Teatre Lliure, in which Pau Carrió directs 14 characters, a sign that public theaters are recovering from cuts and daring to undertake large productions again.
However, at some point in The Watsons, it's hard to digest Wade's transgressive direction. Especially because Austen fans expect the typical stories now called "teacup stories" when invited to one, perfectly reflected with the magnificence of the first part of the play, leaving them wanting more suitor entanglements and marriage proposals. Recently, the collective imagination about this universe is opening up, as can be clearly seen in series like Bridgerton or, returning to the British writer, in Sanditon, her other unfinished novel, allowing for unimaginable licenses in the early 19th century. An approach that is usually better resolved is when the writer is taken to a pop territory, with a Bridget Jones that updates Pride and Prejudice and a Clueless that does so with Emma. That said, any excuse is good to champion an author who did not know success nor could she have imagined that she would fill theaters as she does today.