Main photo: stage design for Fantàstic Ramon at the Teatre Lliure theatre – ©Marta Mas
With moving stories, characters who narrate their everyday life, and an immersive stage design, theatre becomes a mirror of society and a voice for those who are not always heard. Plays such as Fantàstic Ramon (Fantastic Ramon) and Un monstruo viene a verme (A Monster Calls) are powerful examples of how performing arts can inspire audiences and have an impact that extends beyond the stage.
The Banco Sabadell Foundation works with cultural institutions such as the Teatre Lliure theatre and the Fundación Teatro Joven foundation to turn theatres into places in which to improve our society and promote empathy through innovative projects for inclusion.
‘Fantàstic Ramon‘: Diversity on stage
Actors and actresses with and without functional diversity take to the stage to tell us a moving tale. Teatre Lliure presents Fantàstic Ramon, a fantasy comedy written and directed by Clàudia Cedó, creator of the Escenaris Especials theatre association. The play reflects on difference and exclusion, and on the excessive protection of those who do not quite fit the mould.
The story follows a couple with an unplanned child, who they instantly fall in love with. The mother wants the world to adapt to the needs of her son, while the father wants his child to have the autonomy to adapt to the world. As he grows up, the son encounters stigma, prejudice and misunderstanding, and becomes involved in the fight to defend the rights of others like him.
This piece goes far beyond the stereotypical play at the theatre, it is a solid social initiative that gives out a much-needed message to the world about awareness and empathy.
Emilia Garcia Sanchez, Director of Compliance and Management Control at the Banco Sabadell Foundation, was there on the play’s opening night and shared her experience with us: Fantàstic Ramon is a piece put on by the Teatre Lliure that leaves no one indifferent. With both touches of humour and moments of tension, the play addresses topics that invite viewers to reflect deeply on how society deals with diversity and exclusion, from both a human or personal standpoint and from a social perspective. It also offers an innovative insight into the inclusion of artists with functional diversity in the world of performing arts, so that their presence will stop being seen as newsworthy. The ending, which comes as an unexpected surprise, leaves viewers feeling disconcerted.”
“With both touches of humour and moments of tension the play addresses topics that invite viewers to reflect deeply on how society deals with diversity and exclusion, from both a human or personal standpoint and from a social perspective.” Emilia Garcia Sanchez, Director of Compliance and Management Control at the Banco Sabadell Foundation, who saw Fantàstic Ramon on its opening night
A Monster Calls: Emotion and empathy
The play put on by the Fundación Teatro La Joven foundation, Un monstruo viene a verme, takes viewers on an emotional journey about grief and acceptance. The play, based on Patrick Ness’s novel of the same name, looks at how young people deal with loss and fear, creating empathy and encouraging people to talk about life’s difficult but necessary topics. Both the story and its on-stage adaptation not only move the audience, but they also make room for dialogue and understanding of experiences that, while personal, we can all relate to on some level.
A Monster Calls was originally an idea conceived by British writer Siobhan Dowd, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2004. The theatrical adaptation was put on with the additional collaboration of the Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer cancer association, which helps to raise awareness among society and to increase the resources available for the prevention, research and early detection of cancer with the ambitious goal of attaining a survival rate of over 70% by 2030.
The Banco Sabadell Foundation believes in culture as an opportunity and a platform for raising awareness, collaborating with cultural institutions including the Teatre Lliure theatre and the Teatro Joven foundation. These initiatives do not just offer entertainment, they also open up spaces in which to discuss and understand a wide range of experiences, thereby helping to build a more inclusive and aware society.
