Murder, Mayhem, and Machetes in Marble

No! I am not writing about the latest drug cartel violence to hit Mexico ( there is more than enough written about that, plus plenty of other lurid scaremongering tales about the dangers of Mexico City); rather this is a post about the latest theatre production to grace the stage at Bellas Artes... and what a unique stage it is; the marble bathrooms no less - both the Ladies and the Gents.....

The tiny audience is firstly divided into two groups, then frogmarched and lined up by two very bossy wardrobe girls in either the mens' or the womens' adjoining marble bathrooms, and then the action unfolds - two twenty minute simultaneous scenes, so it doesn't matter which bathroom you visit first, but whilst watching one scene you also eavesdrop on the other!! The experience is an intimate voyeuristic paradise with villains pulling guns and munching sandwiches under your very nose, and heroines / heroes looking right through you to apply their make-up or adjust their hats in the mirror. Indeed some of the action has to be viewed in the mirrors themselves, and enjoy the moment when as the machete blow is struck, the lights go out and the audience is sprayed with what surely feels like blood!! Here is the final scene that takes place in the Ladies...

A true voyeur always sneaks her camera in and takes the shot after everyone else has departed! The original play, "Ladies and Gents" by Irish playwright Paul Walker, was commissioned by Theatre Company Semper Fi for the Dublin Fringe Festival in 2002. It went on to win a Fringe First Award at Edinburgh in 2003, and here the spanish translation is directed by Enrique Singer as "Los Banos".

The palatial marble bathrooms are a microcosm of one of Mexico City's most beautiful buildings. Here is the rest of the Palacio Bellas Artes which serves as concert hall, exhibition space, and display area for some of the great Mexican muralists, namely Rivera, Orozco and Siquieros. It also boasts a fine stained glass Tiffany stage curtain in the main auditorium.

The white marble Palace was finally completed after the Revolution in the 1930s incorporating wonderful art deco design features, after the earlier shell of the 1905 building subsided into the city's soft subsoil....

"Los Banos" plays on Saturdays and Sundays at 12 noon and 1pm until April 12th. Be sure to book in advance, and don't miss this unique theatrical experience in a unique place!! Check out other places by clicking here for MyWorldTuesday posts...