KFDA : Analphabet
Alberto Cortés
- Theater
After two lovers argue loudly on a beach at sunset, a ghost named Analphabet appears over the sea to tell his story and sing songs to the couple.
Alberto Cortés, a revelation in the art landscape, calls himself a marica andaluza (‘Andalusian faggot’), highlighting the off-centre perspective that has allowed him to develop a singular language. Invited to open the festival, he presents Analphabet, the story of a ghost who roams cruising spots, the outdoor spaces for sexual encounters between men. With haunting prose, Cortés crafts a character born to heal toxic relationships, partially reflecting his experience of being called ‘irrational’, a label he defiantly reclaims with this piece. Inspired by José Bergamín’s La decadencia del analfabetismo, Cortés criticises a society that sacrifices poetry for rational order, where everything must be organised, legible, and fixed, like the alphabet. On stage, accompanied by violinist Luz Prado, Cortés is magnetic; his body vibrates as if words flow through him like blood, like lines in a poem, like men in the woods at night. Cruising and poetry: Analphabet clings to a world perpetually threatened by too much daylight. Perhaps there are no words, or enough letters, for a night beyond description and that promises to be an unforgettable experience.
As part of Kunstenfestivaldesarts.
Grande salle.
Accessible for wheelchair users
In spanish surtitled in french, flemish and english.
Contains nudity.
Aftertalk the 10th of may
Presentation Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Théâtre Les Tanneurs
Concept, dramaturgy, texts, direction and interpretation Alberto Cortés
Violin and conversations Luz Prado
Lighting design Benito Jiménez
Lighting technicians Benito Jiménez, Cristina Bolivar
SoundÓscar Villegas, Pablo Contreras
Technical coordination Cristina Bolívar
Piano recordings César Barco
Scenic space Víctor Colmenero
Costumes Gloria Trenado
External view Mónica Valenciano
Photography Clementina Gades
Video Johann Pérez Viera
Production El Mandaíto, coproduction TNT Terrasa Noves Tendències, Centro de Cultura Contemporánea Condeduque, FITEI-Festival Internacional de Teatro de Expressáo Ibérica, Centre de les Arts Lliures de la Fundació Joan Brossa, Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro de Cádiz
With the support of Azala, Graner, Goethe-Institut Madrid, Escena Patrimonio, Festival de Otoño, Programa de Residencias Artísticas de la Agencia Andaluza de Instituciones Culturales, Ayuntamiento de La Rinconada
Performances in Brussels with the support of the Spanish Embassy in Belgium
© Clementina Gades