Maria de Medeiros stars in Robert Wilson’s Pessoa at Madrid

Inaugurando el Festival de Otoño de la Comunidad de Madrid, la producción teatral póstuma Pessoa. Since I’ve Been Me arrives at the Teatros del Canal as an homage to the late American stage director Robert Wilson, featuring a cast led by Portuguese actress Maria de Medeiros. El montaje marca la primera obra de Wilson en ser representada en España tras su muerte, reuniendo las visiones artísticas de Wilson, el poeta portugués Fernando Pessoa y Medeiros a lo largo de dos noches en viernes y sábado.

The production originally premiered in Florence in May 2024 as one of the final creations of the avant-garde director. El montaje ancla una programación del festival que se extiende hasta el 29 de noviembre en la Comunidad de Madrid, abarcando 29 espectáculos en total procedentes de 18 países. Alongside the Wilson staging, the festival features European premieres and Spanish debuts, including works from French, Polish, and Iranian creators.

Recreating the Minimalist Stagecraft of Robert Wilson

Rehearsals for the Pessoa project revealed the exacting standards of a director known for treating light as a physical medium. “Speak always upwards,” Medeiros remembered Wilson instructing the cast, noting that the physical direction aimed to clarify and give transcendence to the spoken word.

Charles Chemin, codirector of the production and artistic director of the Watermill Center—the New York laboratory Wilson founded in 1992—emphasized that the late director viewed his stagings as living organisms rather than frozen artifacts. Chemin explained that Wilson actively rejected the concept of a static theatrical repertory, warning against unearthing past icons without their original creative context lest they become artificial caricatures. The Robert Wilson Foundation currently maintains this philosophy by supporting the Watermill Center as a space for open creative vision rather than a preserved mausoleum.

Medeiros Juxtaposes Pessoa Reflections with Festival Dance Program

Medeiros observed that the work juxtaposes Pessoa’s final written reflections on mortality with a playful invocation of his alternate identities. The opening weekend at the Teatros del Canal also showcases international physical theater and dance, such as the Montpellier National Dramatic Center’s revision of Hamlet and Polish dramatic works addressing contemporary social themes.

Additional regional programming extends the scope of the festival well beyond traditional venues. Masescena reported that Spanish choreographer Chey Jurado debuts Marea Weekend in Móstoles, combining contemporary and urban dance forms, while site-specific initiatives bring culinary arts and technology directly into public municipal spaces like the Mercado de Vallehermoso.