THE DAYS OUT THERE
2024
©Eugenia Kais
© Eugenia Kais
© Eugenia Kais
© Eugenia Kais
© Eugenia Kais
CREDITS
WITH Yoseli Arias, Paulita Asturayme, Carla Canteros, Estefania Hardcastle, Noelia Perez, Ignacio Rodriguez and Inés Copertino (musician)
CONCEPT, TEXT AND DIRECTION Lola Arias
DRAMATURGY Bibiana Mendes
ARTISTIC COLLABORATION Alan Pauls
TRANSLATION FOR SURTITLES Alan Pauls (French), Daniel Tunnard (English)
SCENOGRAPHY AND SETS Mariana Tirantte
CHOREOGRAPHY Andrea Servera
MUSIC Ulises Conti, Inés Copertino
LIGHTNING David Seldes
VIDEO Martin Borini
COSTUMES Andy Piffer
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Pablo Arias Garcia
STAGE MANAGER David Seldes
VIDEO MANAGER Martin Borini
SOUND MANAGER Ernesto Fara
STAGE HANDS Roberto Baldinelli, Andrés Pérez Dwyer, Manuel Ordenavia
PRODUCTION AND TOUR SET-UP Lison Bellanger, Emmanuelle Ossena (EPOC productions)
TOUR DIRECTOR AND TOUR MANAGER Lucila Piffer
ADMINISTRATION AND PRODUCTION Mara Martinez (Lola Arias Company)
PRODUCTION Luz Algranti, Sofia Medici
TECHNICAL PRODUCTION Ezequiel Paredes
ASSISTANT SET DESIGNER Lara Stilstein
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR CTBA Julián Castro, Florencia Galano
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Juan Manuel Zuluaga Bolívar
SET DESIGN ASSISTANT Lara Stilstain
STAGE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANT Facundo David
CASTING Tálata Rodríguez (GEMA films)
LEGAL ADVISOR Felix Helou
SOCIAL WORK Soledad Ballesteros
PRODUCTION Lola Arias Company
ASSOCIATED PRODUCTION Gema Films
COPRODUCTION Complejo Teatral de Buenos Aires, Festival d'Avignon, Festival d'Automne à Paris, Théâtre de la Ville (Paris), Théâtre national Wallonie-Bruxelles, Festival Tangente St Pölten, Kaserne Basel, La Comédie de Genève, Maxim Gorki Theater (Berlin), Nationaltheatret (Oslo), Scène nationale du Sud-Aquitain (Bayonne), Le Parvis Scène nationale Tarbes-Pyrénées, La Rose des vents Scène nationale Lille Métropole Villeneuve-d'Ascq, NEXT Festival, Théâtre national de Strasbourg, International Sommerfestival Kampnagel (Hamburg), Théâtre national de Bordeaux en Aquitaine, Zürcher Theater Spektakel (Zurich), Künstler innenhaus Mousonturm (Frankfurt), The Brighton Festival, Centre dramatique national Orléans Centre-Val de Loire, Fonds TransFabrik deutsch-französischer Fonds für darstellende Künste
SET CONSTRUCTION Ateliers de construction du Théâtre National Wallonie Bruxelles
WITH THE SUPPORT OF Onda - Office national de diffusion artistique
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Gema Juárez Allen and Clarisa Oliveri, Rita and Remo Pauls, Lucia Arias, Roy Kaplan, Laura Nicolás, Mariana Volpi, Mellisa Aller
PERFORMANCES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH France Médias Monde
REVIEWS
LAVACA (Argentina): MU 194: No Podrán (July 2, 2024) • By Claudia Acuña
«Freedom when composing, and the hunger for practice. The beauty and brightness to avoid reproducing stigmatization. The forms of love and work to create other ways of seeing, understanding, and empowering ourselves in the face of so much hatred.»
LE MONDE (France): Lola Arias fait entendre les voix d’anciennes détenues argentines (July 7, 2024) • By Joëlle Gayot
«The curtain finally rises, contrasting the orderly space of the institution with the wild nature of real life. That harsh and brutal life, which none of the protagonists have surrendered to, despite traumatic experiences. The rage to survive and regain balance, resilience: these ingredients are present and impressive. From beginning to end, the audience, driven by the musical rhythms (cumbia and music-hall) as much as by the explicit message conveyed from the stage (never give up), will applaud the performances they witness, before leaping to their feet at the end of the show for an enthusiastic ovation.»
L’HUMANITÉ (FR): Quand les corps des femmes entrent en scène • by Marie-José Sirach (july 8, 2024)
«Los dias afuera, “the days out there,” bears witness to their life journey. They arrive proudly in front of the red curtain, dressed in evening gowns. Despite the marks of a hard life, they are proud, beautiful, and rebellious. Their testimonies are raw and sincere. They alternate monologues, songs, and dance in a joyful show that blends musical theater, cabaret, and music-hall. In prison, they endured, some even studied. Lola Arias had already filmed them in Reas—according to the Latin phrase “in case of doubt,” but in slang, it means crazy, uncontrollable woman.»
INTERVIEWS
DIARIO (AR): Quiese hacer un musical vulnerable y imperfecto • by Laura Gómez (may 23, 2024)
It is an ambitious work in creative terms but also logistically. What difficulties did the process entail?
The other day someone asked me if I felt that the projects were becoming more political. I believe that the political aspect doesn’t reside only in the content that is presented but in everything that is involved in ensuring, for example, that these people can be on stage. In practice, I assumed that this is also an essential part of the work. That the song is beautiful, that they sing well, that they perform well, and that the text works are just as important as having social security, being able to open a bank account, or having access to a babysitter for their children.
EL PAÍS (ES): Lola Arias. La cultura genera redes, genera comunidad y genera conciencia • by Federico Bianchini (june 1, 2024)
Over the years, I have learned that documentary work can change people’s lives. I am not only interested in that person’s story, but also in ensuring that they have a place on stage to tell it themselves, with no one representing them. Because that generates empowerment, a distance that allows them to live with that story in a different way.
LE TERRASSE (FR): Los días afuera • by Anaïs Heluin (july 1, 2024)
This experience is not the first you have conducted with people from different backgrounds than theater. For each adventure, you imagine a different setup. Here, why did you choose the musical theater genre?
Incarcerated people have a great need for means of expression to free their bodies and emotions. Music, singing, and dancing are of fundamental importance in the daily life of the prison. Two of the six performers were part of a music group in prison. So I naturally turned to this genre, where marginal worlds are generally represented in a stylized and romanticized way, by virtuous and virtuoso performers. Here, however, we really start from who these people are, from their lives, from their musical tastes, to build the piece.
