Teatre Lliure in Montjuïc debuts with ‘In Memoriam. The baby bottle conscription’, which pays tribute to the young people recruited to fight for the II Republic in the final few months of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).

Six actors from La Kompanyia Lliure are responsible for interpreting the roles of the young seventeen year old soldiers who fought in the war. The play is divided into three parts: the first part offers a glimpse of the war when they arrive on 27 April 1938; the second part narrates the living conditions before crossing the Ebro, and when they are forced to entrench themselves in order to fight; and the third part is set on November 12, when the survivors began to retreat.

Get to know more about the actors- -Joan Amargós, Enric Auquer, Quim Àvila, Eduardo Lloveras, Lluís Marquès and Joan Solé- who are making their debut in this tribute to the baby bottle soldiers…

During the play, one is immersed into this period, especially through a sound track composed of war songs but also through baroque works which are performed live on stage. Two violins, Oriol Algueró and Ricart Renart; two cellos-, Oriol Aymat and Joan Palet, and tenor Robert González, led by Dani Espada (harpsichord and organ) interpret the works by Purcell and the ‘Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda’, by Monteverdi, a piece on lovers conflicts interpreted through a perspective of war. At times the actors join the musicians in the interpretation of the polyphony of the madrigals.

Why is it called the baby bottle conscription?

The name comes from the young age of the soldiers who were recruited, who were not older than 17. Halfway through 1938 the situation for the Republic was incredibly dire and desperate. Its defences were falling apart and the need for soldiers was increasingly greater. For this reason, the republicans did not hesitate to use at least 30,000 of these young men, who could quite easily have been “drinking from baby bottles”, as said by the anarchist minister Federica Montseny, thus leading to this name.

Born in 1920 and 1921 these young soldiers participated in the most important and decisive battles of the war, such as the battle of Jarama, the bloody battle of Belchite or the decisive battle of the Ebro in July 1938 which was the end of the Republic resistance.

More about La Kompanyia Lliure

The project, which was started in 2013/2014 will be running for the next three years with its eight newest members: Joan Amargós, Quim Àvila, Clàudia Benito, Raquel Ferri, Eduardo Lloveras, Andrea Ros, Joan Solé and Júlia Truyol.

These young people aged between 20 and 30 were selected in March by a panel of four actresses and four actors, aged between 20 and 30, and were selected from among almost 400 aspiring actors after having completed three intense weeks of work sessions and a final audition. They were chose in March by a panel formed of theatre professionals. Banco Sabadell Foundation collaborates with and supports La Kompanyia Lliure with the aim of giving opportunities to young talent and continuing supporting culture, in this case, through theatre.