Sala Átrium proposes a disturbing comedy about the limits of being parents
A couple, an adopted child and a normality that begins to crack. That’s how it starts human fleshthe new show written and directed by Joseph Julienwhich premieres in the Atrium Hall after receiving the Alzira City Award 2022. Interpreted by Meritxell Calvo i Santi Ricartthe piece combines dark humor and psychological tension to speak – with irony and lucidity – of the values, limits and contradictions of our time.
“I wanted to write a comedy about the familiar, about an apparently normal couple, but which ends up revealing itself as an uncomfortable mirror of the society we live in,” explains Julien. The author defines human flesh as a “cruel laugh” about contemporary dehumanization: “Behind the humor, there is a look at the loss of empathy, competition and the commodification of people.”
A disturbing and critical story
The protagonists, Màrcia and Ramon, have been looking after Mirko, a Bosnian boy they adopted, for five years. But in their day-to-day life, strange things begin to happen: objects that multiply, inexplicable phenomena, situations that defy all logic. Convinced that the child is “special”, the couple enters a spiral of delirium that tests their faith, their morals and their relationship.
The work offers a quick and poignant dialogue that portrays two people who want to be good parents, but who end up trapped by their own expectations and fears. The result is a dark and, at the same time, uncomfortable comedy: a story about the fragility of modern certainties and the way we project our desires onto others.
human flesh reflects, with humor and without moralism, on how capitalism and the daily rush have altered human bonds. Julien admits that he wanted to “talk about this liquid world where everything is ephemeral: relationships, commitments, even the idea of family”. The play starts from a domestic situation to explore universal issues such as fatherhood, faith in progress and the need to hold on to what gives us meaning, even if it is an illusion.
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