“Playwright Liliana Lam tackles gender stereotypes in new play ‘Privacy'”

It has been released this May on the occasion of the VIII Conference on Masculinities organized by the Ibero-American and African Network of Masculinities, a new play by playwright and actress Liliana Lam, which this time has the collaboration of his partner, the also actor Alberto Corona. Both are responsible for the script of the piece, the direction and the interpretation —which they dub with the couple of young actors Laura Alejandra Mesa and Ernesto Pasos—.

Privacyhave titled the new installment inspired by the text Lauren’s book, by the Spanish Paloma Pedrero. The setting is the result of a workshop of the Juntarte project, sponsored by the Hermanos Saíz Association and the Italian Association for Cooperation for the Development of Emerging Countries (COSPE).

For Lam, Privacy follows the thematic line of gender problems that have interested her since its inception. In this case, the work addresses the conflict of preconceived sexual roles in a heterosexual relationship. “The work tries to dismantle gender stereotypes from intimacy,” said its author. As in previous installments (especially in zero kilometer), in this piece the matter is presented through a story that captivates our attention. The dialogues and scenes flow without decay during the setting, thanks to a good writing and a rigorous direction of the actors. “The good thing about directors is that they are also actors and they put themselves in our shoes,” Laura Alejandra and Ernesto Pasos admit in an interview on TV.

The anecdote is interesting until almost the end of the worklet’s say until the climax, where the story stops because, as in zero kilometer, didacticism wins. More pronounced than in the previous case, the actors suddenly begin, at the conclusion of the conflict, a recitative that deals with the moral of the story. This includes questions about human nature expressed on stage, slogans, conclusions and promises. Which, although appreciated in terms of our sexual education, diminishes the value of the work of art.

“Theater should serve as a tool for social change”, says Lam in an interview. It’s a pity that you insist on that mistake. Liliana Lam is a good storyteller who knows how to direct actors on stage. Too bad she can’t resist the temptation to educate us.

Privacy it will be presented during the month of May in the Habana Espacios Creativos, in Teniente Rey and Habana, and in the month of June “in a room not yet defined”. Later on it is planned to take the Bertolt Brecht, on Línea street.