The poet, writer and playwright Carla Nyman, during her interview with ‘Infobae España’ at the Teatro de la Abadía, in Madrid (Helena Margarit Cortadellas)
“Not having expectations is much healthier,” he says two days before Hysteria land at the Abbey Theater. After the success of have the meat (2023), a novel in which a young girl and her mother walk the corpse of her boyfriend along the Almeria coast, Carla Nyman (Palma de Mallorca, 1996) has emerged as one of the most interesting creators (in addition to being a poet, playwright and writer) today. The work she presents together with Teatro Kamikaze is an exercise in vindication of the hysteria that, erroneously, was applied to women “who were proposing new logics and alternatives” to the existing reality, which caused them to be relegated to the margins. social. “Hysteria reaches our days in the form of depression and mania”he says in an interview with Infobae Spain.
The play, starring Lluna Issa Casterà and Mariano Estudillo, is the result of two personal experiences. “I suffered systemic violence in a personal relationship”says Nyman, a situation that led her to reflect on the invalidation of other people’s pain in spaces of trust and intimacy. “It caused a psychic stir in my head,” he admits. The second anecdote includes a medical consultation. “They diagnosed me with a disease I didn’t have”he admits with a laugh. “The doctor insisted on searching through my orifices,” he adds.
The first scene of Hysteria shows a woman being inspected by a doctor who needs to know where her madness, her nonconformity, comes from. All kinds of objects emerge from their holes that relate their physical discomfort to their emotional apathy. A stuffed animal, a Finnish flag, a tennis racket or a telephone. Accidental humor, irony and surrealism come together to put together an imperfect, but effective, story about the vulnerability of existence. Then it rings Psycho Killerby Talking Heads, and light psychedelia takes over the Abbey Theatre.
“Now, we are all hysterical”Nyman denounces. “We are under the yoke of the monster of neoliberalism and that affects us and has a terrible impact,” he adds. The creator not only talks about medical negligence that, as in her particular case, is caused by the “very high demand” that, above all, “happens here in Madrid.” His criticism extends to rents, “which right now are unviable,” or to “indecent working hours” that end up absorbing human beings. “We end up being absorbed by this maelstrom, trying to constantly flee forward to survive in a hostile system,” he explains.
“We end up being absorbed by the maelstrom, trying to escape constantly forward to survive in a hostile system”
Carla Nyman presents ‘Hysteria’ at the Teatro de la Abadía (Helena Margarit Cortadellas)
Nyman’s hysteria becomes, on stage, a vindication of the evils of the 21st century. “There are going to be many more casualties due to depression and anxiety because we are forcing something that is inhuman, an effort and a fortitude that brings us down,” he says. In the theater, and in the creative world, the author wants to avoid being consumed by the “frivolity” and “artificiality” that can tarnish honest work. “If I have to set foot towards a more commercial place because circumstances push me to do so, I want to make sure that the other one is genuine,” something that is achieved through care and a carefully chosen team.
Hysteriajust like have the meat, is not afraid to address eschatology or uglinessbecause “there is something very beautiful in an amorphous body.” In the work, the writer defends the idea that the human being is not a finite body, but rather an entity “that is always in interaction with the other person, object, environment or atmosphere.”
“If I have to set foot towards a more commercial place because circumstances push me to do so, I want to make sure that the other one is genuine”
Carla Nyman gets wet when talking about the theatrical legacy, and why it is necessary for contemporary works to enjoy greater health on stage. “I lack a lot of freshness”he indicates. “The stories that previous generations tell us help us gain perspective, but the new voices bring many concerns,” he adds. The author believes that profiles like hers are ideal for talking about current problems that mainly affect the younger demographic. Not only the centennials They are capable of connecting with the most non-conformist public. a few days ago, Angelica Liddell filled the Canal Theaters with Damon. Bergman’s funerala fierce tribute to the filmmaker who took over the audience of viewers under 30 years of age. “People connect with Angélica because she activates evils that concern her generation, but she connects with the contemporary pain of young people,” Nyman says about her success.
Carla Nyman, in the presentation of ‘Hysteria’ at the Teatro de la Abadía, in Madrid (Helena Margarit Cortadellas)
Another barrier that he wants to break down is the idea that poetry, and therefore the theatrical text, is less accessible than a novel with a classic structure and an accessible narrative thread. “It is an educational problem of how it is presented in schools”he indicates. With experience as a teacher, Nyman believes that change begins in the classroom and overturning the idea that theater is a gifted genre.
“You will always see the same plays. Celestina It’s really cool, and The Lazarillo of Tormes too, but we must also bet on the most contemporary stories,” he says. The idea is that a “confusing” approach makes the viewer leave the room with even more questions, thus breaking the hegemony of the Aristotelian story, the one with a clear outcome. “You have to let yourself go and not come with the anxiety of wanting to resolve the plot and have answers”indica.
“People connect with Angélica Liddell because she activates evils that affect her generation, but she connects with the contemporary pain of young people”
Although many have considered its literary crudeness as an approach to the universe almodovarianoNyman (born in Palma de Mallorca, but heart divided between Murcia and Finland), is known to be closer to the humor of Aki Kaurismäki (director of the award-winning Fallen Leaveshis latest approach to the apathetic, but tender, reality of the Helsinki working class). “I love Kaurismäki,” he says. His films are, for Nyman, a kind of “cynical fairy tale”: “There is something fantastical, hopeful, but it is really tremendously dark, and that has to do with Finnish irony,” he says. Spanish surrealism comes together, in Hysteriawith the cynicism of someone who knows he is vulnerable.
The staging of ‘Hysteria’, at the Teatro de la Abadía. From left to right, Mariano Estudillo, Luna Issa Casterà, Carla Nyman and Juan Mayorga, artistic director of La Abadía (Helena Margarit Cortadellas)
