Apátrida, Doscientos Años y Unos Meses by Rafael Spregelburd (review)

In 2010, Argentina celebrated its bicentennial with concerts, parades, and exhibitions meant to showcase the nation’s identity. Perhaps the most anticipated event was the unveiling of a newly renovated Teatro Colón. A symbol of national pride, the majestic opera house embodies the way European culture has been incorporated into the fabric of the country. This tension between European aesthetics and Argentina’s self-image was the subject of Rafael Spregelburd’s innovative theatrical contribution to the nation’s bicentennial, Apátrida, doscientos años y unos meses (Stateless, two hundred years and a few months).

As a prominent Argentine playwright with one foot in the European tradition, Spregelburd has authored and directed dozens of productions that disrupt aesthetic and geographic barriers. Despite an international reach, his work is also firmly rooted in the vibrant alternative-theatre world of Buenos Aires, which boasts hundreds of independent venues. This very production was commissioned for a festival that showcased collaborations between Argentine and European playwrights in the context of the bicentennial. Initial exchanges between Spregelburd and a Swiss playwright, Raphael Urweider, inspired the development of two parallel productions in free verse. Apátrida was then incorporated into the independent-theatre circuit, officially premiering in 2011 in one of the many black-box spaces of Buenos Aires, perhaps appropriately called Teatro El Extranjero (Stranger theatre).

The play, which garnered awards and critical attention, addressed many of the ambiguous aspects of Argentine national identity through a fascinating reworking of archival materials. Apátrida is based on a series of newspaper articles published in 1891 in which Argentine painter Eduardo Schiaffino and Spanish-born critic Max Eugenio Auzón debated whether a truly Argentine national art was possible. Their conflict arose when Schiaffino and other painters, upon arriving back from training in Europe, decided to mount an exhibition of Argentine art. Auzón opposed the initiative, declaring that it was useless to even think about Argentine national art for at least 200 years … and a few months.

To compose Apátrida, Spregelburd rewrote the debate as a Sprechoper, or a “spoken opera,” crafting the language into poetic and melodic sequences. This musicality was further emphasized by the presence of a sound artist onstage. On one side of the stage, the playwright performed both men in conflict, switching between two music stands as he switched between the two roles, thus reiterating the archival debate about art and national identity. On the other side of the stage, sound artist Federico Zypce musically intervened in the debate using an orchestra of handmade instruments, including a gas tank and a long metal harp that he operated with deliberate theatricality. This interchange created a dynamic restaging of the conundrum of Argentine identity.

By giving sound such a prominent place in the production, Apátrida reflected a moment of great technological creativity in Argentine theatre. One need only look to the many innovative productions that have begun to characterize Argentine alternative theatre, such as Mariano Pensotti’s latest work, Cineastas (Filmmakers [2013]), which staged actors and filmed sequences on a double-decker set; or to Lola Arias’s Mi vida después (My life after [2009]), which used projections, films, and recordings to recount stories of Argentina post-dictatorship; or to Federico León’s Las multitudes (The multitudes [2012]), which challenged the architectural capabilities of the theatre by bringing 120 actors onstage.

Playwright Rafael Spregelburd (right) and sound artist Federico Zypce (left) operate the cassette-recorder audio guide in Apátrida, doscientos años y unos meses.

(Photo: Ale Star.)

Yet, in brilliantly interweaving newspaper archives with sonic gestures, Spregelburd traversed new ground. In particular, sound in Apátrida disrupted the clear distinction between two opposing positions in the archival debate and thus destabilized power structures. In the first scene, for instance, Zypce joined Spregelburd at the center of the stage where they operated a cassette recorder audio guide. The...