Living in Peru : your everyday companion

By Rodney L. Dodig

This past Thursday night, May 29th, I was invited by a friend to see a play being performed at the Teatro Britannico. I admit I was worried about going since the play is in Spanish and my command of the language in minimal at best. The play, “Respiro,” is a tragedy with moments of comic relief throughout. There are moments of serious irreverence towards the Catholic Church and Christianity in general. So much so that they were handing out a little warning as you entered the theater. This did not seem to bother the audience in attendance this particular evening in the least.

From the moment the lights dimmed, the curtain rose and the first actor started a monologue I knew I was going to enjoy this performance. They say that good acting can transcend language and I am now a witness to this fact. The actors in this play were incredible. They portrayed the ideals of the play through body language, facial and hand expressions and vocalization to the point that words were almost unnecessary. The words that were used were powerful and well spoken and the interaction of the players was a marvel to behold. Two of the actors in particular deserve special notice. The first is Leonardo Torres Vilar who played Mario, the young brother. His ability to switch speech and mannerisms in mid stride between a young boy of 8 and a fully grown man was astounding. The range of emotion he could express with his face was also quite impressive. There was one particular moment in the play where he is trying hard to get his father’s affection to no avail. It almost brought me to tears. The other is Sebastian Monteghirfo who played Renato, the older brother to Mario. He easily demonstrated the range and flexibility required to be a great actor. His energy on stage pulled you into the action whenever he appeared. The angst portrayed by him as his little brother caught him leaving the family was palpable; you could almost feel the emotions as they tore through his body.

By singling out those two brilliant performances I do not want you to think that the performances of the other actors were less by any means. The performances of Patricia de la Fuente and Javier Valdes who portrayed Pilar and Felipe, the Mother and Father of the boys were strong and forceful, yet tender when those moments were called for. Javier Echevarria portraying Walter, Mario’s friend when they were young, gave a sterling performance as a troubled young boy dealing with his Catholic upbringing. Victor Prada did a marvelous job of playing the priest at their school and Renzo Schuller an amazing job of portraying a suitably irreverent Jesus who would come down from his cross and talk with Mario as a young boy. Graciela Paola was suitably frenetic as the mother of Walter.

This wonderful cast of actors brought this play to life for me. I laughed, cried, got angry, and was happy and sad at various moments in the play. I was surprised that all these emotions could be brought out in me when I did not understand the language the play was spoken in. As I stood and left the theater, I knew it was the magnificent performance of these fine actors that helped me to understand what was going on. I could tell that the other audience members thoroughly enjoyed the play also. Like me, I could see them going through all those emotions when I could tear my attention away from the stage. At the end I believe I counted eight curtain calls and the applause was suitably appreciative. Peru can be proud of the actors it is producing if these are any indication of what the schools for performing arts are turning out.

The play itself is heart wrenching. It is a masterful work of art by Senor Adrianzen. You can tell that he has pulled this play from a very deep and emotional place. I think it is a play everyone can relate to and enjoy. It was an incredible experience for me and one I will not forget anytime soon. Please do yourself a favor and go see it.

The Teatro Britannico is a small intimate theater. I don’t think it could hold much more than 200 persons. The stage setting was very minimalist which was nice as it did not distract from the acting. There is a nice lounge area very tastefully decorated for the patrons to mingle in before the theater doors are opened. An assortment of beverages and delicacies are also available at reasonable prices before the play begins.

Respira
When: Thursday to Monday at 8:00 pm. (Until June 29th)
Where: Teatro Británico (Jr. Bellavista 527, Miraflores)
Cost: s/. 20.00 (Mondays); s/.30.00 (General); s/. 15.00 (Students)
Tickets available at Teleticket of Wong and Metro, and at the ticket store of the Theater.

To learn more about Rodney, you can read his bio at the end of this article!

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