la grUtesca

Escarlata Circus

Laughter is spontaneous, unpredictable, and to a certain extent, uncontrollable. Our neural connections fire up, the body shivers, muscles contract in unusual and creative ways. Our faces change. In the age of artificial intelligence and algorithms, facial recognition momentarily loses track of us when we burst into laughter, as if for a moment we have transformed into something else. la grUtesca builds on the idea that in laughing, we unfold ourselves: the body, shaken by involuntary forces, briefly forgets its learned order and structure and leaps into the void.

Now, can laughter be induced? Clearly, yes: television programs have always exploited this with the use of famous canned laughter, originally crafted by sound engineers to signal to the audience when and how to laugh at a joke. Therefore, laughter represents freedom, but it can also become a tool of control. This is the artistic challenge posed by la grUtesca: to explore laughter without forcing it, delving into the most intimate, sensitive, and yet collective aspects of seeking laughter. Bet Miralta and Jordi Aspa present themselves directly and without masks, seeking the closest distance with their audience, to the point of almost reading their minds, while they investigate and manipulate emotions lighter and more delicate than air. Hence, balloons are one of the symbols of la grUtesca: because in a world where it seems that freedoms and opportunities to be different are dwindling, laughter itself might also become extinct. And if that happens, one of the most significant questions we can ask is how to care for and preserve it.

“I’ll say little about a proposal which, like MDR by Los Galindos, should be recommended without giving away too much detail. Small-scale circus, object theater, music, puppetry, and life itself are used by the group from Sant Esteve de Palautordera to create a delightful show, a reflection on the act of laughing without bombast or pretense. A small scenic gem that leaves us exiting their little big top tent grinning from ear to ear.” Oriol Puig Taulé, “Amics, auriculars i alegria a Tàrrega”, Núvol

Idea escarlata
Performers Bet Miralta and Jordi Aspa
Versatile technicians Oriol Luna/ Pep Arumí
Dramaturgy Marc Villanueva Mir and escarlata
Intermittent inspirer Sergi López
Sound design Jordi Salvadó
Music Joana Gomila
Stage and costumes design Oriol Corral
Lighting design escarlata and Oriol Corral
Communication Cio Llopis
Production Bet Miralta and Alfred Fort on behalf of la Destil·leria
Production assistant Gina Aspa
Structure’s construction Uli
Seats’ construction Manu
Video Alex Macias
Graphic design Diego Ingold
Voice little girl Guisla Pérez Sampons

With special thanks to Ton Mentruit, Genís Matabosch, Anna Carreras, Manel Palahí, Xesca Salvà, Marduix and Tena Busquets

Coproduced by Escarlata Circus and Scène Nationale de l’Essone, with the collaboration of Ajuntament de Lloret de Mar, Ajuntament de Sant Esteve de Palautordera, Ajuntament de Figueres and Centre Cívic de Porqueres, in residency at La Sala de Sabadell, FiraTàrrega and Teatre Municipal de Girona, supported by Departament de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya.

CAT/ EN/ ES




With
Escarlata Circus

Previous dates

Olot | Teatre Principal
16.12.23 18h/ 20h

Santander | En la cuerda floja
18.-19.11.23

Ponferrada | Festival Sin Red
07.-08.10.23

Barcelona | Festival Grec
20.-21.07.23 20h/ 22h

Tarragona | Antic Ajuntament
30.06.-01.07.23

Cardedeu | Pell de Garitu
03.-04.06.23

Évry | Théatre de l’Agora
01.02.23 20h

Lleida | Teatre de l’Escorxador
13.-14.01.23 19h/ 21h

Tàrrega | FiraTàrrega
08.-10.09.22 20h/ 22:30h