Mexican Theatre in the Wake of the Pandemic

Theatres all over the world have struggled to survive during the pandemic. Many still do. Mexican theatre has been hit harder than most, even though the country re-opened venues from July 2020 onwards. With heavy restrictions. Yet open they were. This is a look into theatre in Mexico today. How is it faring? And where is it headed despite the heavy pressure from the still lingering pandemic?

When Mexico allowed the reopening of theatres in July 2020, the idea was to bring relief to the theatre world and aid in its continued survival.

However, theatres were only allowed to operate with 20-30% occupancy. Thus, the relief felt was small as everyone in the industry did their best to weather these hard times.

All-in-all, even though theatres reopened, about two million theatre employees in Mexico found themselves in economic peril.

The Covid19 safety measures led to, thus far, an overall loss of one million pesos (42 million euros) in sales in the industry. Currently, an estimated 300 venues in Mexico City find themselves on the brink of permanent closure.

The pandemic has also highlighted the difficult balance between Mexican government and Mexican cultural institutions.

According to voices on the Internet, especially the current, rather conservative political leadership seems to harass independent cultural institutions.

But change has been inevitable due to Covid. As in other cultural realms across the globe, many Mexican theatre professionals transformed their work and went online or worked with hybrid formats.

These more experimental forms of theatrical expression grew especially in independent theatre over the course of these last 2 years.

Some say the current hybrid productions come close to live cinema. With close-ups and open shots. For example, Otra Electra by Rocío Carrillo.

The monologue cycle of the Foro Teatral Independiente Área 51 in Xalapa combines randomness and technology. For this piece, the performers tune in via Zoom call for their performance. There is no fixed schedule. The performers appear and then they disappear. There certainly is an element of surprise and a touch of audacity.

Other performers presented one-person plays via video.

In Telempatías, Claudia Lavista presented a choreographic experiment and created a live improvisation performance with eight stage workers who were connected from home.

Working with Zoom made it possible to connect to theatre groups from different regions. Thus, the pandemic brought theatre professionals closer together throughout Mexico.

News articles on the Internet describe how using online media helped further certain cultural events. For example, the annual Maratón de Cabaret (International Cabaret Festival) was transformed into a two-day marathon of conferences, workshops, and theater streams. These were broadcast on Facebook. Artists from all over Latin America took part. The marathon ended up having a much larger audience than usual.

Independent theatres became more flexible and creative during the pandemic.

In an article for Nachtkritik, Gastón A. Alzate, Professor for contemporary Mexican theatre at California State University, describes how he sees the academic world change due to the restrictions of the last two years: “The academic offer has expanded. Some companies or theaters use websites that offer courses, such as the Delfos TV project.”

“Directing and acting workshops now focus on microphone speaking or facial expressions and body movement in front of the camera, and auditions for theatrical productions are performed via Zoom.”

“It is very likely that, when the pandemic is over, acting schools will offer hybrid (face-to-face/virtual) classes.”

However, as positive as some of these developments are, there is a flip side to them.

As everywhere in the world, Mexican theatre professionals soon came to realize that Zoom cannot replace the vibrant energy, the collective experience, the magic, and final applause of in-person performances.

Then, the leap to digital didn’t work for some of the more traditional houses. Also, not everyone in Mexico had equal access to online resources. A problem which manifested itself in many other countries as well.

Moreover, the overproduction of online theater in Mexico as well as in other places around the globe resulted in greater economic devaluation of theater work.

As the pandemic continues, a balance must be found. Theatre is here to stay. However, we need to be mindful of navigating a course which will, in the long run, strengthen the industry rather than undermine it.

Based on the article Theaterbrief aus Mexico, Nachtkritik, and other online sources.

More from Liam Klenk:

Claire Bournet and ‘Trafic de Styles’ in Paris – an Interview

Guilherme Botelho – Dance and the Quest for Meaning

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