Lola Arias
The year I was born
“This experience shakes you to the core… History is much more than learning data by rote.” La Segunda
In The year I was born, eleven Chileans who were born during Pinochet’s military dictatorship reconstruct their parents’ lives. Using photos, letters, tape recordings and keepsakes they try to find out who their parents were and what Chile looked like in the 1970s and 1980s. They question narratives and blurred memories for the various versions of historical events that took place before they were born or which they experienced as children. Like doubles, the performers slip into their parents’ clothes and lives, they re-experience scenes from the past in order to learn something for their future. Alexandra, for example, reconstructs the contradictory narratives about the murder of her mother, a member of the Revolutionary Left Movement. Viviana reads aloud from the trail against her father, a police officer who killed two militants. Soledad recalls the conditions when her parents left Chile in order to go into exile in Mexico. The conversation between the two generations straddles the dividing line between reality and fiction, between national history and private stories.
With The year I was born, Argentinian artist Lola Arias continues her work on identity, family and history writing. Her work That enemy within about the life of identical twins was shown in brut back in 2010. www.lolaarias.com.ar
Audience discussion on 9 November following the performance.
Text and director Lola Arias in cooperation with the artistic team and the actors Artistic assistance, research Paula Bravo Audiovisual management Nicole Senerman Audiovisual cooperation and sound editing Jorge Rivero Original music and sound design Ulises Conti Stage design and lighting Rocío Hernández Stage musicians Alejandro Gómez Sepúlveda Choreography Soledad Gaspar Cast Leopoldo Courbis, Pablo Díaz, Ítalo Gallardo, Soledad Gaspar, Alejandro Gómez Sepúlveda, Fernanda González, Viviana Hernández, Ana Laura Racz, Jorge Rivero, Nicole Senerman, Paula Bravo German supertitles Margit Schmohl
A production by Teatro a Mil Foundation.
The year I was born is presented as part of the project House on Fire, with the kind support of the Cultural Programme of the European Union.
€ 14/€ 8/€ 6 with the brutkarte*