Each one — of those who were lucky and old enough to see it — will have their memories of La bella Helena, the show at the Teatre Lliure premiered in 1979 directed by Pere Planella and Carles Puértolas (music), with set design by Fabià Puigserver, based on the operetta by Jacques Offenbach and performed by a cast of the collective in a particular state of grace (in every sense). For some, it will be the comic force of Anna Lizaran in the rôle-titre manifesting as consequently fickle for being the daughter of a swan, for others the hilarious blunt silliness of Lluís Homar’s Achilles (“soc el mes brau de la guerra”), years ahead of Brad Pitt’s with his short kilt; or perhaps Quim Lecina’s Menelaus sporting a motorcyclist helmet with appropriate little horns, or Fermí Reixach’s Agamemnon with his air of Asterix’s Julius Caesar. There will be those who have not been able to forget almost half a century later the irresistible mischief wrapped in sequins of Imma Colomer’s sensual Venus under her red bowler hat with a feather. Also in memory that chorus of Orestes (Pep Anton Muñoz) and his wild girls (Muntsa Alcañiz and Carme Callol): “Xim la lá, xim la lá, oia quefalé, quefalé o lalá,” and the cameos of the last day, with Lluís Llach appearing unexpectedly as if confusing Cythera with Ithaca…
Well, now, as a tribute to that show (which had a remake in 2001 at the Victòria directed by Josep Maria Mestres) and its unforgettable performers, some of whom dearly loved have already taken Charon’s boat, the Lliure proposes Tot fent ‘La bella Helena’, a comedy about a group of young artists who embark on the adventure of staging again the 1979 production. With dramaturgy and theatrical direction by the Mallorcan Miquel Mas Fiol and Pablo Ruz signing the musical arrangements, the show, a co-production of the Lliure and the Teatre Principal de Palma, opens, from September 22 to October 18, the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Barcelona collective at its historic Gràcia venue. The season officially starts this Thursday at the Montjuïc venue (Fabià Puigserver hall) resuming Marta Pazos’s production (stage direction) and Dani Espasa’s (musical) of L’opera de tres rals by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill which inaugurated the last Grec festival.
At today’s Tuesday presentation of Tot fent ‘La bella Helena’, preceded by a cercavila by the company in the street, the Lliure director Julio Manrique began pointing out like a chef de piste: “This starts, and how it starts! We have a frantic activity at the Lliure, the celebrations begin, which include exhibitions, events and this group doing their La bella Helena led by Miquel. We asked him if he wanted to take the original show and do whatever he wanted, and that’s what he did, with his irreverent humor and his love for theater.” Manrique declared himself “very happy to have them here and to open the season of the Gràcia theater, the founding theater, with them.”
For his part, Mas Fiol, leading his company characterized as characters, recalled that the original production starred great Lliure references like Lizaran, Homar, or Alcañiz and that back then they shared a very communal spirit, all doing everything, whether painting sets or hanging lights. The director lamented that this spirit was lost in theater in general when “we are all better in a group” and “alone art doesn’t come out.” Inspired by that original cooperative spirit of the Lliure and trying to recover it, this “bunch of crazies” wanted to redo the adventure of La bella Helena. The director referred to the “love of the craft” and emphasized that there are no muses but hands and that in theater everyone matters.
The actors, Sergí Boqué, Jordi Cornudella, Gerard Franch, Carme Milán, Lluís Oliver, Mel Salvatierra, and Núria Vinyals embody a group that wants to revive La bella Helena and in doing so find themselves, like themselves, crossing the barrier between personal and professional life, with the reason why they started doing theater. “Beyond doing La bella Helena, which we do, this is an ode to theater,” said Oliver. Mas Fiol pointed out that he is 30 years old, an age similar to Planella’s (28) and stressed that he continues with full passion, devoting himself to something many people may find trivial and with the great challenge of “continuing to play.” Carme Milán, who faces the challenge of being the Venus that Colomer embodied, described the experience as unique, and “so immersive” the fact of undertaking it at the Lliure in Gràcia. She insisted on the love of theater and reflected that “we are the characters ourselves, our own soul is here.” The director recalled the inspiring quote by Fabià Puigserver embedded in the Lliure of Montjuïc: “What can be expected from a bunch of crazy sharpshooters who confuse theater with a personal adventure? What can be expected from amateurs who mix management, production, and even staging and art with friendship and love? What can be expected from uncontrollables who make theater a way of life and the workplace their own home?” And Manrique added that they polished the plaque on which this founding litany is inscribed (in the theater lobby) on the occasion of the anniversary.
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The company members have (half) joked about the impression of remaking La bella Helena in Gràcia and have emphasized, just in case, their respect for the spirits of the house, also adding (half) jokingly that “things have happened” and they have felt presences.
The director clarified that although it is a play about the staging of La bella Helena they also offer “the entire structure of the operetta and the main themes” and people who saw it will see the iconic moments. He qualified that in any case “playing Anna Lizaran is very difficult,” but in the end, “in our own way, we will do La bella Helena, we will.”
Mas Fiol and his actors have had the help of actors from the original version, such as Imma Colomer, Blai Llopis (Ayax II), and Muntsa Alcañiz, who have told them many anecdotes. “We will make a very cool tribute,” summarized the director.
Manrique explained that on the occasion of the start of the anniversary celebration they will inaugurate a plaque in Gràcia with the names of all the founders of the Lliure, and another in Montjuïc. Also today the exhibition La nit que vam aplaudir was presented in the bar of the Gràcia theater, which collects on screens testimonies of people who were at the premiere of the inaugural show, Camí de nit, and applauded even before the performance started. “They applauded hope,” summarized Manrique, who encouraged to “enjoy the anniversary a lot.”
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