Marrano A tale from the Inquisition
75 min
2021
+12
Drama
Download dossier Synopsis

In the year 1485, the city of Zaragoza witnessed one of the most horrific crimes in its history. While praying in the cathedral, a Dominican monk was brutally stabbed by a group of assassins. He was left in front of the main altar, suffocating in his own blood. When the body was discovered, the city was in shock, and for a good reason: the victim was no less than Pedro de Arbues, the maximum representative of the Holy Inquisition in Aragon.

Our story begins by asking ourselves about the identity and the motives of one of the assassins: Diego of Seville, previously known as Uriel. A simple man, son of a shoemaker, whose life changed radically when religious intolerance and fanaticism stripped away all he ever cherished: his faith, his family, his culture. We invite you to discover the true and powerful story of a simple man who experienced first-hand one of the most terrible episodes in Spain’s history as a country: the expulsion and persecution of the Sefardita Jews.

Marrano, a Tale from the Inquisition comes to defend and contemplate cultural diversity and identity, a play in which we turn to the past to better understand the present. We believe that today, when discourse and acts of hatred and violence towards minorities are so prevalent in society, is an increasingly relevant moment to speak of the Marranos, a minority persecuted by the Inquisition.

Despite reconstructing a distant historical event, Marrano, a Tale from the Inquisition is not an exercise in archaeology. With the aim of bringing the classic closer to the 21st century viewer, LaPercha Teatro uses the language of Mime-Narrator, in which the plot flows dynamically and captivatingly. A piece whose base is gestural work and mime, with the presence of words, music and object theatre at all times. Throughout the play, the five actors incarnate more than twenty characters

In order to create the environment, spirit and atmosphere of the Jewish culture at that time, ancient Sephardic melodies and Hebrew prayers are sung and performed. In addition, inspired by Peter Brook's concept of the empty space, the company reproduces live the sounds of the mimed action: the crackling of the fire, a hammer striking a nail, a door closing or the wind blowing in the street...

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