The things that I have written, not all and not always, in some moments of my existence –the hardest, the most superficial, of anger or ignorance–, I have thought about them, not even for a moment, and I think that we It's happened to everyone." It is the warning issued by the Sardinian writer Michela Murgia from her essay Instructions to become a fascist (SeixBarral / Empúries). Because it's easy not to consider yourself a fascist, but often we fall into attitudes that are.
Based on this provocative text, Sergi Pompermayer has been commissioned to turn it into a theatrical production, which opens this Saturday in Temporada Alta, directed by Miquel Gorriz and starring Mercè Arànega. “I didn't know that essay and I was very freaked out,” explains the playwright, “because it's not a pamphlet and it explains how any of us can fall into fascism. It has a satirical, cynical, very acid tone, and we had to turn all of that into something theatrical, and not just in a lecture by Murgia at the CCCB”.
Pompermayer found the solution when he decided to turn this monologue into a stand-up comedy: "One fine day, hearing the news, the protagonist falls for fascism and realizes that life is much easier for her."
From management, Gorriz has also participated in the entire process: “It has been slow and it has not been easy. The entire editing process has brought about a debate and a dialogue about how each one saw it, and no one can take that away from us anymore. Murgia's brilliant dialectic makes this very clear. This project has taken three years and arises from the last general elections of 2019, when fascism entered Congress.
Gorriz details: “The text shows the weaknesses of democracy and explains the method of fascism: practicable and with rules. Knowing the method, we can combat and deactivate it. The approach is to see in an hour how we can become fascists. One of the objectives is to profit from people's fears: the job, the future of your children ... ”And he concludes:“ It is a comedy that works and is not funny at all.
The actress Mercè Arànega is the one who takes on the challenge of selling viewers the advantages of fascism: “I would like to recommend Murgia's novels. We tried to make an adaptation of one and we didn't get ahead. But reading Murgia, we arrive at the Instructions... ”
And he details his role: I have never done a stand up and it has been very complicated for me. It is the fourth monologue that I interpret, but it had never happened to me that I had to address myself to the public all the time. It has been very difficult for me to memorize the text and I have been cloistered for a month, reviewing it ”. The actress considers that "the end is very hard" and the team is expectant for the reaction that the public may have.
Instructions to become fascist is a co-production of Mola Produccions, Temporada Alta and el Grec, which premieres tomorrow at the Teatro de Salt and will have a season in July at La Villarroel, inside the Grec.
The Girona festival reaches its last weekend with more proposals, such as The bluebird call, by Mal Pelo; La Dévorée, by Rasposo and Marie Molliens; Sondheim x Sondheim. Que passin els pallassos, by Mario Gas; i Fuck me, by Marina Otero, to definitively close this edition with the final of the Torneig de Dramatúrgia, which is held on Monday.
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