Review by Susana Inés Pérez
The company Vaivén brings the play Yo, la peor del mundo, written by Antonio Muñoz de Mesa and directed by Olga Margallo, to the Teatro Fernán Gómez in Madrid. It features music by Iñaki Salvador and performances by Ugaitz Alegría, Nerea Gorriti, Ylenia Baglietto, Ana Pimenta and Itxaso Quintana.
It is a musical biography of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, accompanied by fragments of her poems and reflections on the abuse of power, feminism and freedom.
Sor Juana broke the mould of many of her time, especially those of Father Miranda. With this work, Vaivén highlights the legacy of this nun (without vocation, some say), her genius, her talent as a writer, in short, the courage of a woman who left behind the life that her time demanded and set out on an adventure. Of a woman who preferred to "disobey and fail rather than succeed and obey"; or these are the words that are very aptly put in her mouth.
The show begins when the actors divide up the roles to be played as Sor Juana's relatives. The endearing grandfather (Ugaitz Alegría, an actor of great versatility) frames the play; his library shows a little girl, Juanita, played wonderfully by Itxaso Quintana, eager for knowledge, for reading. She who, years later, will confront a man of the Church with her "Carta Atenagórica" and suffer the consequences. The actors introduce their characters by mentioning their relationship with the girl, which at first might seem too pedagogical or childish; however, the development of the play belies this.
We are caught by the musical numbers as well, or should I say the voice of the performers. Beyond the poems sung (one could not miss the one about "Hombres necios que acusáis a la mujer sin razón"), the piece in which a nun (Ylenia Bagglieto, a wonderful comic actress) sings to Sor Juana the delights of becoming a nun and forgetting her demands as a woman stands out; also the central theme of the work which alludes, through the dance steps, to her Mexican origin, and in which the odd wink is made to the possible Basque origin of her father, and which goes like this: "antes libre que cristiana" (before free than Christian).
Considered by many to be an avant-garde feminist, the work traces her supposedly sentimental relationships with two vicereines of New Spain, her desire for freedom, to be who she wanted to be, without being bound by the precepts of her time, and even to study at university. In order to highlight the relevance of Sor Juana's thought, and also the arduous journey of women throughout history, there is no lack of allusions to television debates and social networks. The magic of theatre unfolds when those on stage address the audience "from another era".
Of great depth and beauty is the scene in which a lighthearted vicereine María Luisa (Ana Pimenta) declares her love for Sor Juana, through a profound and witty parley that contrasts Sor Juana's life of seclusion and her prolific and interesting literary and intellectual work, but, as is often the case, and as the vicereine tells her beloved: "your work will rescue your life". In the same vein speaks the character of Nadie (Nerea Gorriti), a kind of guardian angel or visionary whose presence is decisive for Sor Juana's debate and future.
Yo, la peor del mundo is an original work, almost eccentric, accurate and well documented; far from being dogmatic or propagandist, it includes a multitude of points of view, voices, women and desires. The staging is daring, direct, fast-paced and also funny. Beyond offering a single interpretation of Sor Juana's life, it aims to communicate the great value of her work and her genius, to give this historical figure her well-deserved status as a rebellious and liberated icon. Some will think she was a lesbian, some won't; some will say she didn't join the convent just because of gossip or that she truly had a vocation, others won't; but all will enjoy and even applaud between songs.
Fuente: EnPlatea
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