Campo minado

Teatre

informació obra


Intèrprets:
Lou Armour, David Jackson, Gabriel Sagastume, Sukrim Rai, Ruben Otero, Marcelo Vallejo
Composició musical:
Ulises Conti
Escenografia:
Mariana Tirantte
Vestuari:
Andy Piffer
Direcció:
Juan Carlos Martel Bayod
Autoria:
Juan Carlos Martel Bayod
Sinopsi:

Molts recorden encara aquella primavera del 1982 en què una potència europea —governada amb mà de ferro— es va enfrontar amb una dictadura que vivia els últims dies per unes illes de l'Atlàntic Sud. Ja fa gairebé quaranta anys d'un episodi que no només va acabar formant part dels llibres de text escolars de tots dos països, sinó que, a més, ha deixat empremtes profundes en la memòria i la vida dels qui la van viure. Veterans de guerra argentins i britànics les exploren conjuntament en aquesta peça de teatre documental que converteix els records en material escènic per estudiar com es relacionen experiència i ficció. Tornen a vestir els uniformes, fan el paper dels seus dirigents conduint-los cap a la guerra, munten una banda de rock i canten cançons i reviuen moments que van des de les festes al vaixell que els duia cap a la guerra fins a l'enfonsament del creuer Belgrano. Tot, per explicar de manera coral una guerra que, curiosament, va durar menys del que els protagonistes han trigat a assajar aquesta representació.

Ha reunit els veterans de tots dos bàndols Lola Arias, una escriptora, directora de teatre i cinema i performer argentina que està acostumada a transitar per les fronteres entre la realitat i la ficció amb propostes de teatre documental. En altres performancesd'Arias, els fills reconstrueixen la joventut dels pares durant la dictadura militar argentina (Mi vida después, 2009), se'ns parla de la vida i del paper de les dones i la comunitat queer en el règim comunista de l'antiga RDA (Atlas del comunismo, 2016) o es reconstrueix la vida d'un arqueòleg sirià que lluita des de fa cinc anys per ser reconegut com a refugiat a Alemanya (What they want to hear, 2018). El 2018, Arias va estrenar el film Teatro de guerra, el seu primer llarg (vist al festival barceloní L'Alternativa 2018), amb els mateixos protagonistes que aquest muntatge teatral.


Crítica: Campo minado

17/07/2019

A tale of two histories

per Alx Phillips

The Falklands War / la guerra de las Malvinas took place in the spring / autumn of 1982 over a group of small islands in the southwest Atlantic that belong to Britain / Argentina. 

On this polemical premise, Lola Arias’ extraordinary documentary theatre piece Campo Minado / Minefield cuts right through the conflicting ‘facts’ of the matter to explore a greater truth. The 100 minute play brings together three military men who fought on the British side with three from the Argentinian side. Together, these former enemies narrate fragmented memories of the 10 week war. Archive materials include public and personal photographs, news items, pieces of clothing and music performed live by the men.

As their stories are told, the unlikeliness of this theatre piece ever coming together are made ever more poignant. There is a sense of treachery at every turn. Neither side were prepared for what to expect. The average age of British veterans was 23. Yet while they were voluntarily in the army, the Argentines were 18-year-old conscripts chosen according to the last three numbers on their ID. 

For the British today, the war is recalled as little more than Margaret Thatcher's publicity stunt, used as a way to get voted in again and push through a series of privatization measures and crush trade unions. In Argentina, while it heralded the end of the military dictatorship, the war is still profoundly lived. Argentina suffered heavy losses, half of the casualties went down with the ship the General Belgrano that was sailing away when it was struck by a British torpedo. 

Emotions run so high in Argentina, explained Arias, that it took 5 years to receive the backing to bring this project together. Veterans took part at a great emotional cost and amidst accusations of betrayal from former comrades in arms. On both sides, it would have been hard enough were civilians to share stories about the war, said Arias, but these are military men. A sense of camaraderie and loyalty was imperative to their psychological and physical survival.

Yet it is perhaps survival that has brought them together on stage with the enemy. Since the war, many veterans have experienced trauma; the number of suicides, it is pointed out, has exceeded the number of casualties killed in action. Never lost by any of these veterans is the conviction that their cause was the right one. But this is not a story about right and wrong but about responsibility, not just to your country but to your fellow human being. It is a powerful and timely defence of compassion in the absence of resolution.