Julio Manrique: “I think we are doing things that are worthwhile”

When we talk to Julio Manrique, it becomes clear that he wants to debut the boatman. The director of the Lliure is once again raising a piece by the English playwright Jez Butterworth, of whom he has already successfully premiered Jerusalem at the Grec of 2019. It will be from February 5 at the Fabià Puigserver.

What drives you to ride? the boatman?

I’ve been following an author like Butterworth, whose smaller pieces I’ve also read. apart from Jerusalemhis other masterpiece is the boatmanwhich premiered eight years later, in 2017, at the Royal Court and under the direction of Sam Mendes.

It is also a multi-prized piece.

Yes, in London and on Broadway, also with Mendes’ staging. In Ireland there was another version, which I was able to see in Dublin. I realized then that the text was very powerful, although I didn’t like that one that much. And I freaked out when I read it. I wanted to do something that challenged me and I said to myself: come on, let’s get off the bike.

And you do it with a work located in the era of troubleat the beginning of the eighties, during the Northern Irish conflict.

The action takes place in 1981 in a rural county in Northern Ireland. It was a very hot year, with hunger strikes by IRA militants, who demanded to be considered political prisoners. Ten members died; the first was Bobby Sandsthe most famous. In this context, the piece presents a huge, republican, Catholic family living on a farm. There are different generations, from old people to small children. The family is torn by conflict.

It is, therefore, more choral than Jerusalemwhere did the character of Pere Arquillué stand out?

Everything happened around there Johnny Byronthe Rooster, but there were also well-written characters. Butterworth has that choral thing that I like so much, what with Chekhov. There are also some more or less leading figures here, such as Quinn Carney (Roger Casamajor) and perhaps that of his cousin, Caitlin Carney (Mima Riera). But it is a work with many characters and all very well written. And this, almost always, is the sign that there is a great author behind it.

“There is celebration, ritual, family drama, tragedy… There are many plays in one”

Michael Billington, prestigious critic of The Guardianalso gave it five stars. Do these accolades mean more pressure?

You can always shit her or not; for some you will and for others you won’t. who knows But it’s much harder to do something good with bad text than something worthwhile with good text. It is an advantage that it comes guaranteed.

Billington emphasized the mixture between strict naturalism and another, more mysterious sphere.

Butterworth achieves this miracle. Somehow it makes you think of Shakespeareeven There are situations that are very down to earth and others that fly high. It begins as a party and ends as a tragedy; in between there are all the tones, even that of comedy, black at times. There is celebration, ritual, family drama, tragedy… There are many plays in one.

‘The Boatman’

Let’s talk now about your direction of the Free. This is your second season – is it living up to what you thought before you arrived?

it’s fine It’s an absorbing and stressful job at times. There is always something to solve or a decision to make. I think the theater is going in a good direction. People are connecting with what we’re doing as a public theater, and not just in programming. We have a good educational program, with our social focus and look towards diversity, from an artistic and non-condescending or patronizing point of view. I think we are doing worthwhile things.

You have been lucky to be at the head of a theater that is about to turn fifty years old.

It is a very round ephemeris. We have been working on it for some time. I can only advance that it will be held between September and December 2026, during the last quarter. El Lliure started walking on December 2, 1976 and it seemed good to close the celebration in December.

“I try to be an open spectator”

How do you rate the public’s response?

We are in very good numbers of subscribers. Last year we broke the record with 3,800. The season ticket always gives you an idea of ​​loyalty and trust. And we are also doing our job as a public theater, something that means taking risks, giving opportunities and an outlet for new languages. We do it by escaping the cycles a little.

It was something that was questioned when you arrived: if you would bet on these new languages.

People always presuppose things. But beyond my tastes or the materials I choose to direct, I try to be an open viewer. I like pieces that really surprise me and that I would never make, maybe because I simply wouldn’t know how. What does interest me is crossing audiences, as has happened with Little Womenof Lucia del Grecoin Gràcia, which has invited different people. And do it without needing to program it within a cycle.

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