On Saturday, I went to the opening night of Fuddy Meers, a comedy of coincidences and quirky characters mostly with murky pasts.
The plot revolves around Claire, a 40-year-odd women suffering from psychogenic amnesia. On a daily basis, she depends on the people around her to tell her who she is and why she might have blanked out her past. Enter a multitude of characters all presenting alternative versions and identities: the limping man claiming to be her brother, the escaped prisoner with a truth-telling puppet, the policewoman in an oversized uniform, a wayward son, a dishonest husband… The only character who doesn’t seem to have a vested interest in distorting the truth is Claire’s alleged mother, a stroke victim with a speech impediment: hence fuddy meers, funny mirrors.
The play was written by American playwright David Lindsay-Abaire and is being put on by Barcelona’s international English-language theatre company, Jocular Theatre; it is well worth going to see. Even if the underlying reasons for the amnesia are not in anyway amusing, the play doesn’t dwell on the trauma and the ensuing confusion is light and entertaining. The Vaudeville element is apparent from the start and the comic moments only increase as more and more details are revealed to Claire.
Fuddy Meers is on at the Antic Teatre Riereta in the Raval:
Saturday, November 22, 22:00
Sunday, November 23, 19:00
Friday, November 28, 22:00
Saturday, November 29, 22:00
Sunday, November 30, 19:00
Antic Teatre Riereta
c/ Reina Amàlia 3
http://www.lariereta.es/