The Global Media Site for Entertainment.
Menu
Histeria Teatro is a theatre group from Malaga, Spain. Already known for their plays Depurados, Funny Games, La Huella, and Reservoir Dogs, they surprised this year when they presented their latest production Encore at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The spirited play received good reviews and paid homage to all rock stars who died way before their time.
Histeria Teatro was born out of the desire to produce contemporary theatre that responds to extreme situations.
The theatre group thus focuses on the instinctual and primitive, keeping the audience in their spell.
As Histeria Teatro explains in their latest press release, “In Hysteria, the senses must be alive. Thus, Histeria can be smelled, heard, touched, and felt.”
Often, the company’s stories are accompanied by live music and additional sound effects help to further heighten the intense, sensory experience.
Encore is a contemporary drama, created by Histeria Teatro, which pays homage to all those rock stars who died way too young, often in circumstances of drug overdoses or committing suicide.
In Histeria Teatro’s view a common thread ties them all together:
“They all had everything, they lived fast, yet over time they ended up burdened by a great emptiness which led to their premature death.”
The main character in Encore, Jail Blue, a famous rock star, wakes up in what appears to be an interrogation room with no way out.
Locked in that cold place and suffering of withdrawal syndrome, the prisoner has to answer the questions of a mysterious interviewer in order to get out of there.
A quest that will not easily succeed if the mind insists on forgetting what must be remembered.
Through Jail’s character we enter a world of Rock’n’roll, a rollercoaster of existential ups and downs.
This in an attempt to understand what goes on in the minds of these tortured artists and why they reached their sudden end often at the peak of their careers.
Histeria Teatro is proud of their unique and unusual perspective.
Their theater was born out of the need to explore extreme sensations in extreme situations on stage. Situations in which human beings will be reduced to – or enhanced by, depending on how you want to view this – their most primitive instincts.
Histeria Teatro could have decided to instead please audiences with comedy theater. Between laughs the mind relaxes, has fun, and after a while, forgets everything. Which is definitely also an important part of entertainment.
But the theatre group wants to delve into the depths of the human condition. They want to present topics to the viewer which are often perceived as taboo in everyday life.
Histeria Teatro wants to confront the audience with fears which they will usually try to avoid.
The theatre company wants to investigate and twist the interior of the soul. So that we become able to face our real human conflicts.
And from that premise we all then process experiencing the show in our own way as we come to accept a reality which is usually hidden just underneath our everyday facades.
In the end, we might fear the terrible not quite so much. Because when the terrible is known, it becomes easier to confront.
A quote on Histeria Teatro’s website maybe sums up their intentions best of all.
It is a thought by Antonin Artaud, who developed the Theatre of Cruelty, aimed to shock audiences through gesture, image, sound, and lighting.
He is quoted to have said:
“This is why true beauty never strikes us directly. The setting sun is beautiful because of all it makes us lose.”
Encore is written and co-directed by Helena Garcia. Sandra Bravo is the other co-director. Helena performs as well and is joined onstage by Billy Van Heel and the musicians Ross Grant and Nicola Rivosecchi.
Official Website Histeria Teatro
Histeria Teatro on Instagram
Histeria Teatro on Facebook
Actor, Director, and Lecturer in Hong Kong: Billy Sy
An Interview with Nathanael Philip Mosher, Writer and Performer
Liam Klenk was born in Central Europe and has since lived on four continents. Liam has always been engaged in creative pursuits, ranging from photography and graphic design, to writing short stories and poetry, to working in theatre and shows. In 2016, Liam published his first book and memoir, 'Paralian'.
Read Full Profile
© 2021 TheatreArtLife. All rights reserved.
Thank you so much for reading, but you have now reached your free article limit for this month.
Our contributors are currently writing more articles for you to enjoy.
To keep reading, all you have to do is become a subscriber and then you can read unlimited articles anytime.
Your investment will help us continue to ignite connections across the globe in live entertainment and build this community for industry professionals.
