J.B. Priestley never denied the influence of Anton Tchekhov in his work, especially in Time and the Conways, the play that opens this Thursday at the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya with a new production directed by Àngel Llàcer. A production of this scale can only be undertaken by a theater like this, acknowledges Llàcer, who has been pursuing this dream for years.
With ten performers on stage, Màrcia Cisteró, Mrs. Conway, is the only role that the director was clear about from the start. Alongside him, Júlia Bonjoch, Biel Duran, Bárbara Roig, Carles Roig, Albert Triola, Júlia Truyol, Mar Ulldemolins, Ferran Vilajosana and Roser Vilajosana bring to life this wealthy English family from Yorkshire in two moments of the 20th century, at the end of the First and Second World War.
At the presentation with the director of the TNC, Carme Portaceli, there was a preferred place for the translator, Joan Sellent, honored last week at the Critic of the Performing Arts awards.
Sellent, who is retired, explains that he only does a few sporadic translations, which is why when he got the call to translate The Weather and the Conways, he initially said no, but within two minutes he was the one he called: “If you haven't given it to anyone yet, I will. It is a Priestley”.
Llàcer celebrates the ingenuity of Sellent's version, and the montage's commitment to language is evident in the translator's words: "Something has happened to me that had never happened to me before, and that is that they found me in miss the passes".
"The fact that the work takes place in two historical moments separated by two decades means that the age of the performers is not relevant, because they must be characterized with twenty years of difference", explains Llàcer, who reveals that some of these transformations are done live on stage.
The costume, the responsibility of Míriam Compte, "is like Downton Abbey", says the director, and Mar Ulldemolins discovers a small tribute to the production directed by Mario Gas: "On the dress I have an embroidery on each shoulder that had been from La Carulla ".
Lácer feels overwhelmed by Gas and Portaceli, whom he considers his teachers. "I asked Mario for permission and he said: 'You will do worse than me, but do it'. I think we do it neither better nor worse, but different". The director says that the play "has a very depressing tone", because the family's expectations are not met, but he has tried to ensure that, when the play ends, the audience takes away a good memory.
"In the end, it becomes a positive work, because we mix the theatrical fact with it. The work hits you hard, but I come out positive because I have the reins of my life and I will do what I want to do. We are looking forward to Thursday to show you what we have done", he declares.
Time and the Conways has a duration of 130 minutes, without intermission, and will be performed in the Great Hall of the TNC until May 21. Portaceli reports that 60% of the tickets have already been sold.
