Yesterday we had the premiere in Cuba of Bent, a piece by British playwright Martin Sherman talking about repression against homosexuals in the context of Nazi Germany. On the Cuban side assumed the co-direction the young filmmaker Luis Ernesto Donas alongside English director Stephen Bayly.
With high expectations people waited for the arrival in the Cuban stage of what promises will be a cultural event this summer in the Greater Antilles.
The world premiere of Bent took place in 1979 with the debut of Ian Murray McKellen, British actor of stage and screen, in the role of Max. The same role was taken, also in 1979, by Richard Gere for the premiere on Broadway. Bent has performed with great success in more than 56 countries and is considered one of the classics of the contemporary theater.
Sherman’s piece, which will be in theaters throughout the month of August in the Tito Junco Hall Bertolt of the Brecht Cultural Complex, is set in Berlin in 1934 where after the Night of the Long Knives severe repression against homosexuals is unleashed.
Exclusive to OnCuba, Luis Ernesto Donas (Villa Clara, 1984), film director and editor, talks about his first foray into theater direction after graduating from the International School of Film and Television of San Antonio de los Baños (EICTV) as a director with his short fiction La Trucha.
How did you get the proposal to co-direct the play Bent along Stephen Bayly?
It was through the English director himself who has been teaching for several years at the International School of Film and Television of San Antonio de los Baños, workshops with great depth and theoretical level, based on the interpretative method known as the Meisner Technique, elaborated from the Stanislavski method, by Sanford Meisner (1905 -1997), an actor and teacher of acting theory.
Previously, Bayly had directed in Cuba the pieces Blue orange by Joe Penhall and Neglected graves from Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters. This year he asked me to co-direct Bent and I thought it was a good opportunity, just finished my studies in EICTV to stay active and apply all the tools I’ve learned with the Meisner Technique.
How did you choose the cast?
Bayly was nurtured by players that make up the so-called Peña Meisner in Havana, formed by all the actors and directors who have gone through his workshops in Cuba for nine years. Members of the peña meet every first Saturday of each month at the Casona de Linea to keep fresh all the knowledge we have acquired in his acting workshops.
Every time Stephen comes to Cuba he meets with all members of the Peña and thrives there for the premiere of his works. Many players in the The Public troupe belong to that Peña. We also have the pleasure of working with Carlos Pérez Peña, Jaime Jiménez (Estrellita), Raul Bravo, Omar Duran, Reinier Hernandez and Yoelvis Lobaina, all active members of the Peña Meisner.
Who is on the cast and crew?
We sweated a lot to premiere the work in Cuba. In production is Indira Magaz. From the point of view of art we were advised by Vivian del Valle. The soundtrack was composed by Ariannys Mariño. This weekend debut in major roles Ernesto del Canal (Max), Yoset Posada (Horst) and Juan Miguel Valero (Rudy). They alternate with Yasmani Guerrero, Yazle Rivero and Jarlys Ramirez.
What were the motivations of Bayly to premiere on the island?
There were many reasons. Stephen has previously worked with Martin Sherman and Ian McKellen. Somehow he is aware that Bent is a very popular work and it works very well. When he knew that it had not been released in Cuba he did not think twice because he was sure it would be something good at text and audience levels.
This premiere in Cuba was supported the National Council of the Arts, which gave us one of the best theaters in the country-the Film School of San Antonio de los Baños and the National Center for Sex Education (Cenesex). Bayly knows about the campaign against homophobia in Cuba CENESEX develops.
The work refers to the term Bent applied to homosexuals. It is a story of love in extreme situations but also a cry for tolerance and freedom. So somehow CENESEX was interested in supporting it as part of their summer campaign. We are very excited with the opening in Cuba and would be good for a work like this could be seen by the public from other provinces.
