La Llorona Llora (The Wailing Women)

115270 original

Poor direction and amateurish production let down a talented and promising young cast in Sylvia Gonzalez's exploration of the fraught relationships between Spanish conquistadores and the Aztecs in the sixteenth century. Actors from the International School of Geneva's Le Chat Theatre Company tell of the anguish of an Aztec woman whose life falls apart when Spanish authorities refuse to recognise her marriage to a conquering soldier, threatening to take both her husband and children away from her.

It is a testament to the talent of the cast that the storyline is made vivid and understandable despite the text flitting between Spanish and English, with the actors moving fluently between both. Some of the dances are too stiff and overly choreographed, though there are one or two beautiful set-pieces, with the entire cast raising the female lead to the roof of the theatre, as if crucified.

Despite Gonzalez's sensitively-crafted text and the cast's efforts, this production is ultimately hindered by awkward and uninspired direction.