MADRID, 27 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
actor and director Antonio Banderas and the composer and producer Andrew Lloyd Webber have launched a joint project, APS, a company with which they will promote the development of musical theater in Spanish, with “quality parameters such as those sought in Broadway and the West End” and in new spaces to offer a “complete experience”.
“It is necessary to remove the rancid flavor from the theater“, Banderas underlined this Monday at a round table in which he presented the project together with Lloyd, which is still being born but aims to respond to the “emerging” international musical theater market.
To do this, APS, which comes from “friends forever”, as Lloyd has assured, will begin by taking to the tables, precisely, works by the British author, such as ‘The Phantom of the Opera’, ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, ‘Evita’, ‘Sunset Boulevard’, or ‘Song and Dance’, it is the latter in which Banderas has great interest.
“Right now we have a very strong work by Andrew, with the experience of professionals and with the idea of doing musical theater in Spanish at high quality levels. It is not just a production company,” Banderas said, in statements collected by Europa Press.
The actor from Malaga has stressed that the works to be carried out have not yet been defined and “There is no specific date of assemblies“, but this summer work will begin on the launch of “one or two” proposals and the appropriate spaces will be sought.
TRANSLATION AND SPACES
This project, which had its origins in a dinner of the composer and the performer in London, will prioritize the translation of the works. Specifically, he will once again translate old works “touching the different accents and modalities of Spanish.”
“We have to adapt works in a specific way to the different ways of speaking Spanish. It is a way of understanding each other better and it is a sign of respect for the communities,” Banderas defended in this regard.
In this sense, it has been advanced that Lloyd’s works developed by APS will begin to be translated again. In fact, the actor has proposed Roser Battle to carry out this task.
On the other hand, the initiative will bet on theatrical evenings, surrounding the stage, “the center of the operation“, of other spaces that the viewer likes, such as restaurants or musical shows.
Banderas, who does not rule out acting in the productions that APS will promote, has stated that his intention is to take these shows to traditional theaters but, especially, to alternative spaces, including buildings that can be adapted. Lloyd has given the go-ahead to this because in today’s theater spaces are sought “as flexible as possible”, such as the ‘black box’.
Precisely, this idea of black box scenarios, with a simple design, is what Banderas “likes” the most as director and creator, since these spaces provide three-dimensionality”, he highlighted.
“NO NETFLIX FOR THE THEATER”
The commitment to this quality musical theater project in new spaces is an opportunity for the actor to modernize the theater, an art that has always “has some truth to it.”
“In times of crisis the theaters fill up. It is a show in which it is difficult to deceive, people recognize themselves in it more directly“, the interpreter has asserted, to add that the theater “is unchangeable and survives” even in times of crisis.
In this regard, he has warned that the numbers show that cinema and its formats are changing. “The cinema is going to be left for romantic groups only or for those films that generate a lot of expectation (…). The drop in spectators has been dramatic,” she lamented. In this regard, he has given one of his latest films ‘Official Competition’ as an example, in which he participates alongside Penélope Cruz and Óscar Martínez: “Seven years ago he would have made eight million and now he hasn’t reached one.”
Faced with this dilution of the cinema experience, Banderas is safe in his new bet. “There is no Netflix for the theater”, he has sentenced, to clarify that, despite everything, he does not give up on the cinema.
For his part, Lloyd has been “very excited” to work with Banderas and raise a theater of the “highest possible quality” with this project.
-. Company: MIOR/MPIN.-
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