Fleeing from a painful past or facing it and seeking personal healing is the mystery of the play “Mothers and Children”, starring Diana Bracho and Juan Manuel Bernal, where both recreate a story of pain, mixed with love, melancholy. and dreams yet to be realized.
“When I read the play, it seemed to me that it was necessary because we are in times when we forget the other, we forget empathy and theater is always a mirror of what we live, of what we are,” Bernal said at a press conference.
“It seems to me to be a masterpiece and a piece that has all the elements to involve the viewer, awaken empathy and also try to break with clichés,” he added.
The work tells the story of the reunion of “Betty” and her ex-son-in-law “Chris”, who was the partner of her son “André” for a long time. Death separated the lovers years ago, leaving great pain, especially for “Betty,” who, due to her homophobia, decided to distance herself from her only son.
“That experience of having had a child, of having given her everything and consenting to it, and having that child contradict her in her sexual preferences and die without her knowing, is extremely hard. She lived very far from her son, so it is a very painful situation for her.
“I am trying with all my heart to give life to this character, who is so hurt by the loss of her son, that abandonment of the mother to the son is tremendous,” said Bracho.
“Chris” has already formed a family with “Pierre”, together they adopted “Danny”, a six-year-old boy, but when he meets “Betty” again, memories of the past will destabilize their relationship.
“My character is loaded with guilt. He gave himself a second chance at love and is living in an incredible moment in his life, until he encounters the past, one that surpasses him and then he takes advantage of that opportunity that life gives him to try to heal,” Bernal said.
The play features the performances of Bracho and Bernal in the main roles, Eugenio Rubio, and the little ones Luca Guerra and Antua Trejo alternating roles.
Written by playwright Terrence McNally, it is directed by Diego del Río and produced by Óscar Uriel.
In addition to calling for tolerance and empathy, the work addresses issues of social interest such as discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, as well as the stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS.
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“The work raises intimate and personal references of the playwright, he was part of a generation that triggered an important change, he lived the AIDS pandemic in a profound way since he had to care at home for a person who lost the battle due to that disease, He knows from the inside many of the issues he raises.
“It is not an autobiographical work, it is one where he constructs a fiction, where each character is given different ideas about the world, he advocates the importance of remembering; If one does not remember the past, one will repeat what one did not learn, that is what the play is about, all without entering into a tone of moral lesson,” said director Diego del Río.
“Mothers and Children” will be on display starting May 10, just eight weeks, at the Milan Theater. Tickets are already on sale.