Madrid, 1956. The unforgettable voice of 'Cuéntame',

Carlos Hipólito , opens the

Almagro International Classical Theater Festival

this Thursday

with 'Adolfo Marsillach soy yo', a tribute to the actor and director 20 years after his death, by of the National Classical Theater Company (CNTC) which he launched.

What is 'Adolfo Marsillach soy yo' about?


It is a tribute made based on readings of texts written by him, from various sources.

It is a selection made by Lluís Omar, I think very intelligently, which portrays our beloved Adolfo quite well.

There are semi-fabulous texts, but then there are others that he wrote almost as reports of things that happened to him.

All the people who participated loved Adolfo very much and we are going to do everything there as best we can.

There is also music because, with a series of songs performed by a pianist and a singer, which are allusive to the different moments that are narrated.

Everything, to try to make a semblance of what Adolfo Marsillach was.


And what was he?

He was an essential figure for the culture of our country but especially for the theater, as he was a very active person, very innovative and we could say that there is a before and after his appearance in the theater scene in Spain.

Then, personally, I was lucky enough to be his friend, in the last stage of his life.

And we got to have a very nice relationship, he with me he was very close and very affectionate.

There I discovered a great guy, an endearing person, despite his irony, his fine humor and his sarcasm, which many times could make him seem perhaps colder.


Why do you say that he marked a before and after?


He was a great innovator as a theater director, because he had a concept of staging that in my opinion was very innovative for the time in which he lived.

He generally fled from hyper-realistic and very descriptive mise-en-scènes to go to a more conceptual terrain always.

Now that seems very normal to us, but a few years ago he wasn't so normal on Spanish stages, starting with that 'Sócrates' that he did at the time or the productions by Arrabal.

As for classical theater, with his idea of ​​creating this National Classical Theater Company, he gave us a great gift to our cultural panorama.

Because, probably, without him this national company that exists in practically all countries and in all European capitals would not exist.


This is the first edition of the Almagro Festival after the pandemic.

How do you think it has affected the theater?


On the one hand, we are all wanting to forget about this blow that has given life to all of society in general, but especially to those of us who work with the public.

But on the other hand, I believe that you always come out of all situations strengthened.

And the people who dedicate ourselves to the theater have realized that we probably have to reinvent certain things.


In what sense?


The public has somewhat lost the habit of going to the theater.

Fortunately, there are many people for whom theater is essential in their lives.

During the pandemic, the people who came did so with an almost militant attitude and we have discovered that we have some faithful who will never abandon us.

But there is a lot of other public that has stopped going for fear of getting infected, for fear of closed spaces, for all these things.

We are slowly recovering.

And I think we have to realize that we have to make the way of doing the shows quite dynamic to attract more people.

And also the way to 'sell' them, to advertise them.

We have to give the callus, be closer and not only trust that because we have a good cast or a good author or an important name in the direction that is going to be the claim.

It is increasingly crucial to know how to arouse the interest of the viewers.

We are all a little more alert in that sense, because although many people think that the theater is experiencing a sweet moment right now, it is in a complicated situation.

Regardless of the fact that there are some shows that do fill up, theater programmers tell me that the number of attendees has dropped quite a bit.

We are all looking for a way to recover that entire base.

That, on the other hand, we know that it is there, that it is wanting to return.

Because I think people are a bit tired of consuming things through a screen.

Regardless of the fact that there are some shows that do fill up, theater programmers tell me that the number of attendees has dropped quite a bit.

We are all looking for a way to recover that entire base.

That, on the other hand, we know that it is there, that it is wanting to return.

Because I think people are a bit tired of consuming things through a screen.

Regardless of the fact that there are some shows that do fill up, theater programmers tell me that the number of attendees has dropped quite a bit.

We are all looking for a way to recover that entire base.

That, on the other hand, we know that it is there, that it is wanting to return.

Because I think people are a bit tired of consuming things through a screen.


Why is the theatrical public so militant?


When you go as a spectator to see a theater show, you are an active and fundamental part of that function that is going to be performed that day.

They seem to be the same, but they are not.

Every day there is a different energy of the public.

We create that energy when we are spectators and that influences the show we are watching.

And also, when you are aware that you can directly influence what you are seeing, well, that makes you empathize even more with what you have in front of you.

With our laughter, with our complicit silence, with our applause or with our 'bravos' or whatever, we can really collaborate to make this a magical moment.

That gives it a great emotional and regenerating power.

And that is why the theater has survived for centuries.

And it will continue to exist, as concerts will continue to exist,

no matter how much canned music we consume, because the magic of live performance cannot be replaced by anything.

That causes us to enter another emotional state that probably helps us overcome hard and difficult moments in our lives, such as this pandemic.


How would you say theater is superior to other ways of 'looking at ourselves'?


Unlike what happens with a newscast, where you see a child dying of hunger and you start to cry and he attacks you and impregnates you with something terrible for the whole day and it is very good that you become aware of that... work of fiction there will always be other elements that will tell us the story of that child, or that of his mother, or that of his father.

Other things that fork us, from what is the pure and simple news.


Marta Etura told me that theater can help us reduce violence.


The theater was invented for that: so that men could make peace with the gods.

And now it can and should also serve for that, to try to redirect behaviors that are not good in society, such as this polarization, these trenches or this return to a civil war that seems to invade us in a tremendous way, and whoever does not have an opinion as you are your enemy.

And this is a total mistake.

If the theater can contribute to bring positions closer together, to open minds, to make people more tolerant, blessed be it.


He has been giving voice to 'Cuéntame' for two decades


It has been a series that has connected with many people and that has been on the air for so long and in such close contact with the public that, obviously, it has become an icon, a benchmark.

I don't know how that is achieved.

'Cuéntame' has had the wisdom to tell us about the recent history of our country through a family.

Sometimes it has focused more on the family and on other occasions it has focused more on the social, but it has managed to hook people year after year.

And I think that has been the reason why 'Cuéntame' has had such a presence.

Because many very young people have learned what this country was thanks to this series.

And then it has also served to feed a little the nostalgia of many people who did not remember, what their house was like, what the television programs they watched were like,

what were the games I used to play when I was little.

'Cuéntame' has had this series of elements that have made it what it is and what it will be for history.

What luck to have participated in that.


What do you think of the expectation generated by the extra-television of the series, such as the statements of Imanol Arias or the judicial process for alleged tax fraud of the main performers?


It is unavoidable.

In other words, it is logical to talk about anecdotes surrounding a product that is so successful, because there is news and everyone is eager to know everything, including gossip.

But it has nothing to do with the series, but with the people who report on the series, who sometimes report the least important.


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