Theatre Review: Tejas Verdes – The MAC

Tejas Verdes – translated as ‘Green Gables’ is the third instalment of The MAC‘s #Chilogy (read our review of the other two Villa & Discurso here) and tells the story of Colorina one of the ‘disappeared’, one of thousands of people in Chile who went missing, were tortured, raped and even killed after the 11 September 1973 coup. Tejas Verdes is the concentration camp where Colorina was subjected to this horrific ordeal and her story is told over an hour through the experiences of five women.

As the audience enter the theatre (this time downstairs at The MAC) it’s starkly different than usual. Gone are the rows of tiered seats, gone is the stage, gone are the bright lights. Instead there’s smoke in the air, everything has been stripped back, the ceiling  stretches right up to the very top of the building – the rafters are exposed, the room is both cavernous and engulfing all at once. The floor, or ‘ground’ rather is sprinkled with gravel (on closer inspection it’s not actually gravel, but that sort of spongy stuff you find in children’s play parks), there’s what looks like a road leading through through the room which is set up on stilts of wood about 8 foot in the air. It’s made to look like concrete and there’s sort of pathway underneath it. These are the ruins of Tejas Verdes. At the front and back of the room there are church pews, the one at the front sees a girl sitting down, waiting for us.

No one’s quite sure where to stand, this is a ‘promenade piece’ you see, there are no seats, you wander freely throughout the room. It’s all very surreal. It’s all very unsettling. Some of us cluster under the bridge made by the road, some stand at the front and some linger at the back looking unsure and wary. The atmosphere is tense and electric all at once.

The bells of St. Stephens toll, and then Colorina  (played by Amy Molloy) speaks. She tells us about the day she was taken and about the abuse she suffered at the hands of the military. It’s all very frank, very honest – she details the acts of violence and torture she has endured vividly; it’s shocking but not gratuitous.

Directed by Sophie Motley Tejas Verdes is written by Fermin Cabal and translated into English by Robert Shaw. The dialogue is poetic and hard-hitting and Molloy (also in Villa), alongside the other cast members Bernadette Brown (Villa), Pauline Hutton (Villa), Eleanor Methven (Discurso) and Emma O’Kane deliver sterling performances. 

We meet all five women in turn – Colorina with her innocent and youthful outlook, her cell -mate turned informer (played by Bernadette Brown), the military doctor who defends the soldier’s actions (played by Pauline Hutton), a gravedigger (played by Eleanor Methven) and a Spanish lawyer (played by Emma O’Kane). Each women appears at various points throughout the theatre, at the back, under the bridge and on top of the road like structure – their arrival announced by a bright spotlight in the darkness, illuminating them as they tell their story. The use of Northern Irish accents is as good as ever, the different classes identified by different dialects, each of them a victim in their own way. The lawyer’s use of a mobile phone and reference to the 9/11 attacks in New York served as a great reminder that the events of 1973 resonate right through to the present day, again bringing up questions about how we view our own past and how far we’ve come (or not) as a nation.

To tell you more, would be to spoil the overall effect of the performance. I urge you all to give these shows a go. Villa, Discurso and Tejas Verdes are immersive, creative and profound – unlike anything I’ve seen before. Running until the 14th of June, with a triple bill this Saturday and next, you can find tickets along with more information here.