Grand Canyon at La Villarroel Review
Written by Laura for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Trigger warnings: sexual assault, degenerative disease.
In rural Catalonia, we meet several characters whose stories are interconnected. Ruby, an eighteen-year-old girl, gets in trouble for her revolutionary song lyrics against the King of Spain. At the same time, Pere, her father, undergoes a profound shift in his worldview after being confronted with a hard truth.
Written by Sergi Pompermayer and directed by Pere Arquillué, the plot centers around this family, but also around the social and economic disparity between people in the small rural town in which the characters live.
I am, once again, floored by the incredible pool of talented artists that Catalonia has to offer. Joan Carreras was incredibly moving as Pere, flawlessly navigating the play’s most demanding scenes. Mireia Aixalà was utterly convincing as Àngela, Pere’s wife, and portrayed her own struggles with nuance and depth. Maria Morera and Mar Pawlowsky, playing Ruby and Tatiana respectively, both impressed me not only with their more dramatic moments but also with their incredible chemistry onstage; I can’t wait to see them in other shows! Guillem Balart and Eduard Buch complete the cast with their solid and believable performances.
I think this was the most impressive staging I have seen at La Villarroel, courtesy of Max Glaenzel. Costumes, video projections, and lighting design helped bring the show to life and left me very impressed overall.
There were some segments, like one of the ending monologues, that completely shook me to my core. When the lights came up, I was still wiping my tears away.
The only negative aspect I found in the play was a scene depicting sexual assault. I understand why it was included, but I would have preferred to go without it, to be honest.
Grand Canyon is a bold, human and emotional story that I would greatly recommend to anyone. It will be playing at La Villarroel until August 3rd.
★★★★
