Wendy Angulo Productions
Last night, I had the opportunity to attend the play “Unos Cuantos Piquetitos” (A Few Small Snips) by Laila Ripoli and directed by Gemma Ibarra as part of Teatrica’s Fall Season.
As the play begins, we meet “El” (he) – interpreted by Venezuelan actor Cesar Augusto Cova-who begins his courtship of “Ella” (She) – interpreted by Spaniard Gemma Ibarra- by bringing her flowers and asking her to touch her hands which reminded him of peaches.
El finally wins Ella’s love and they get married…now married life is very different, he commands and she obeys..the abuse begins: verbal, psychological and physical. As a survivor of domestic violence, some of the scenes were triggering…but these are stories that must be told.
Some of the scenes are accompanied by live piano music which gives them an even more dramatic feeling.
The performances by both Ibarra and Cova were passionate, evocative and intense. Ibarra’s rendition of Ella is emotive and realistic; Cova does an excellent job of showing the complexity of his character, the ingrained machismo and toxic masculinity in our communities. Both characters touch also on racism and colorism.
The audience seating arrangement feels as though we’re in the room with the characters, not just occupying three sides of the playing area. The set is as much a psychological landscape as a physical one.
Our hopes are that this story inspires to break these cycles and to continue the dialogue on Domestic Violence.
You can catch the play tonight at 7:00 pm, Saturday and Sunday (last show). For Tickets click here.
Saturday’s performance at 2:00 pm is in collaboration with Cayenne Short Film Festival whose this year’s festival presents films about different manifestations of domestic abuse. A portion of Saturday’s tickets sales will be donated to Cayenne in support of their cause.
And don’t worry, you don’t speak Spanish? there is a screen with subtitles!
Special thank you to Alex Vásquez Escaño and everyone at Teátrica for inviting me to their play and for giving me the opportunity to write my first Theater Review.
