“Word-of-mouth recommendation is the best for theater,” is a phrase I have heard hundreds of times; However, what do we do when we hear diametrically opposite comments?
This is what happened to me when faced with a singular montage from its very title: The son of a bitch with the hat, because while on the one hand they told me: “Very bad, it’s not worth it; she is long and boring ”; and from another I heard: “It is that type of theater that makes no concessions. Strong, but very good.”
With the weight of those points of view (by the way, all of them from people who watch a lot of theater. What do you know? So) I launched into living my own experience.
I arrived suspicious. A hyperrealistic set by Atenea Chávez occupies the stage of the Shakespeare forum. Plus point. I decided.
The show starts with thunderous, live music (composed and performed by Carlos Mier) and a kind of unbridled collective dance. Chin – I thought – I think I should have listened to those who warned me not to come. But it was already there.
Written by American Stephen Adly Guirgis, the play that premiered on Broadway in 2011 and received seven Tony Award nominations, tells the life of two couples: one of young people in their twenties, and the other of people in their forties. Both in extreme moments of their relationships.
After 15 minutes I’m totally into the plot. The scenes are strong, violent, shocking: drugs, sex, alcohol, physical and verbal violence, insults, beatings, nudity… Without any concessions, as they told me.
Directed by Daniel Giménez Cacho, the montage is truly dizzying. The five actors are on stage all the time, some involved in the plot, and the others waiting their turn on the edges, watching the action, stalking the other characters.
The action does not stop for a second, one scene follows the previous one, and so on for more than two hours of the montage in a single act, establishing an accelerated and very effective pace. Obviously to achieve this, the director places all his trust in a cast that is more than talented and risky.
Nailea Norvind and Francisco Rubio give life to the mature marriage. I have had the opportunity to see her frequently and it is no surprise how well she is. As for him, she hadn’t seen such good work in theater in a long time. I am very impressed by her excellent performance in the film. Bardby González Iñárritu and here I felt it fully again.
The young couple is made up of Lucio Giménez Cacho and Lakshmi Picazo. He, son of Daniel, shows that he has the talent to forge his own career through his own merits; and she, wonderful.
Luis Vegas completes the cast in a very fun and eccentric character that he takes full advantage of.
The general producer of the production is Edgar Torres Mayén, who has undoubtedly made a strong and risky bet with this production, which judging by the performance that I saw, has achieved very good acceptance from the public.
I was recently talking to a friend about how to know who is right when praising or criticizing a work of art. We conclude that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to affirm which of the two positions is the “true” one. Art, theater, is absolutely subjective. And it is up to each person to “rate” what they receive.
For now I invite you to see The son of a bitch with the hat, which I liked a lot. It runs from Friday to Sunday until January 7.