Juan Carlos Rubio’s Arizona at the Aristotle Theater in Thessaloniki
His award-winning work Juan Carlos Rubio goes up for the first time in Greece, on his stage ARISTOTLE Theater for two unique performances, Monday 11 & Tuesday April 12by Stavros Karagiannis and Nikoleta Papadopoulou.
A few words about the project
The Arizona writes in 2005 on the occasion of an article read by the author in the newspaper: “American citizens have organized patrols extending the border between Mexico and the USA, to contain the wave of illegal immigrants. its founders, an organization that aims to discuss the issue of borders with its southern neighbors τους Their interest is humanitarian and their intentions good». This organization continues to operate freely in the Arizona area, even today.
Nowadays, we see such groups in our country as well. Groups driven by intolerance and hatred, take up arms, violently at will, take the law into their own hands. And this is slowly being accepted in a society that has suffered on the one hand from the economic crisis and on the other hand has borne the brunt of refugee-migration flows in the last decade.
In Juan Carlos Rubio’s text, George takes his place to protect his country from Mexicans attempting to cross the border illegally. He is trying to protect his home from snakes that crawl with deadly venom and without realizing it reach under your bed, as it says. The neighbours they are malicious, envious and want to enter the US to steal, loot, kill their children. George is ready to exterminate a threat, which he sees even in the face of a small child.
Fear breeds insanity. The financial difficulties that he and those around him face, make him believe that the sole cause is immigrants. Racism and ethno-populism have filled his soul with rage. The media propaganda has convinced him that crime is their creation neighbors. He chooses to take up arms and kill any would-be intruder, because he considers it legal, solidarity, national and sacred. He decides to become an impenetrable barrier, thus protecting his homeland. He is full of pride and gratitude that he has undertaken this national mission of the utmost importance, with the support of his wife. They decided together, instead of vacationing, to spend a month in the hot Arizona desert, defending the American border. And yet, Margaret does not understand exactly why they traveled 2000 thousand miles and what exactly they came to do in this inhospitable place. Confusion and anxiety grow inside her, as the answers she gets from her husband to self-evident questions seem irrational, contradictory and cynical. And when she starts to express her objections, the distance between the couple will come to the surface. The big gap in their petty bourgeois life will come to the surface. Margaret and George are not killed by a gun. They are killed by the morbidity that managed to penetrate their hearts and minds, because of their indifferent, loveless and meaningless life. They are killed in the end by Man’s fear and hatred for Man.
The show
We are in the hot desert of Arizona. A lone cactus breaks the monochrome of the white sand. Margaret and George enter the stage. They are dressed for summer vacations and carry outdoor camping equipment. The couple sets up the stage, opens their sunbeds and umbrellas. Their radio is tuned to a station that plays the national anthem, classic American hits and frequent announcements about the voluntary border protection program. Margaret brings beers, pudding, takes care of her husband, reads her magazine, water the cactus. With a gun rather than a foot, George communicates wirelessly with others border guardsexchange information, encourage each other.
As time goes on, the temperature rises and the hot sand becomes unbearable; Margaret’s questions become more and more intense; his sense of danger sharpens; . enough to see in the face of his beloved woman a deceitful enemy. The fact of the deliberate poisoning of dozens of immigrants completely crushes him fragile axis of life of Margaret and George and their death comes as an act of despair, but at the same time of redemption. The project ends with the arrival of the child. He crossed the fence, did not drink the contaminated water, but was left alone. A small child, alone, in the land of opportunityof the glorious and glorified star.
Author: Juan Carlos
Translation: Maria Hadjiemmanuel
Directed by: Pantelis Dentakis
Director’s assistant: Katerina Louvari Fasoi
Backdrop: Nikos Dentakis
Costumes: Christos Paraskevopoulos, Tonia Platsa
Music: George Myzithras
Lights: Apostolis Koutsianikoulis
video: Apostolis Koutsianikoulis
Photos: Domniki Mitropoulou
Production execution: Katerina Georgoudaki
Production: Dinos Film
They play
Stavros Karagiannis, Nikoleta Papadopoulou
Their voices can be heard on the radio Alberto Fais, Michalis Oikonomou, Konstantinos Gavalas, Kyriakou Sali, Katerina Louvari Fasoi and of students of the Drama Schools of Agia Varvara and the Piraeus Association.
The show is dedicated to the memory of all those children who tried to cross a border, a sea, a wall and never succeeded.
Performances:
Monday 11/4: 9.00 pm
Tuesday 12/4: 9.00 pm
Ticket prices : 15 €, 12 € (Student) 8 € (Unemployed, disabled)
Pre-sale : Viva.gr & theater box office (tel. 2310 262 051)