They say that when Helena Bonham Carter had to record the series The crown, she did not quite find the character of Princess Margaret. So he hired a medium to be able to talk to the late sister of Queen Elizabeth of England and give him the clues of his character.
The one who remembers the anecdote is Ramon Madaula, the actor and playwright who is premiering Conqueridors today at the Goya theater in Barcelona and who confesses that he stopped, "because the actress paid a lot of money to hire this medium", but above all because the plot of his new piece, which he had already written, reflected a similar fact.
Conqueridors shows what goes on behind the scenes during the filming of a historical series starring none other than Jaume I the Conqueror. The one who does not find the tone of the character is Roger Coma, and that is why the spirit of King Jaume appears among the boxes to help him. This royal ghost "wears the habit of a Cistercian monk, as he was buried in the monastery of Poblet", explains Madaula, who is the one who interprets him. But the ghost of James I goes further. "The king advises how they should do it for the series to work", reveals the director, Josep Maria Mestres.
"The play is a great production, because we are seven performers and play fifteen characters. We already know that we can't go past four because, if not, they won't produce it for us, but this time they told me yes", declares the author, happy for this bet by Bitò and Focus, whom they accompany, in addition to Coma, Moha Amazian, Xavier Bertran, Tilda Espluga, Mònica Glaenzel and Vanessa Segura.
Before anyone asks him any questions, Madaula insists on the goal of entertaining: "I am not intellectually prepared to tell anyone what to think. Our job is to tell people a good story. I have read four books like a hobbyist, so everything that is explained in them is documented. However, with my works I don't want to make anyone think, I just want to entertain, that people have a good time". And if we are to believe the team accompanying him, the public will laugh heartily.
The playwright explains where the idea for Conqueridors came from: "I've shot period series and I've always thought that the backstage would be very useful. Here I mix the medieval era and the present day", and this generates curious situations. Madaula goes further and reflects on the weight of history: "I think we are marked more by historical heritage than genetics. We are from where we are, we are Christians, this has marked us a lot. There are those who talk about the reconquest as a great thing, and I think it is a shame and that it would have been better if we had lived together the three religions. Today, Christianity continues to prevail in a brutal way".
Regarding Jaume I, he considers that "he is a multifaceted character, who can be both a psychopath and a statesman, who created Catalan institutions such as the Consell de Cent". But remember this is a comedy. "We are at the door of the set, preparing to record, and the play progresses through four acts, from the conquest of Borriana until reaching the gates of Valencia".
Regarding the description of the conquest and the relations with the Muslims, Madaula admits: "I have kept short of how they treated the Saracens so that our ears wouldn't hurt so much. Think that in the chronicles they were treated like animals. That's why in the play we experience a little, just a little, the limits of humor".
"Ramon's ability to be delusional is applied to the character of Jaume I, the CEO... Jaume I's is a messianic delusion," points out Coma. And Glaenzel adds: "The filming part has been transferred very well to the play, the only difference is that you get very bored during a shoot and here everything is fast-paced. You can find all the fauna there in a shoot". Conqueridors will have a season at the Goya theater for 11 weeks and will tour next year.
