An unusual scenario: petanque as a metaphor
The Joan Brossa Foundation has become a unique space where art and sport melt. In this environment, a petanque track designed especially for the occasion houses four artists who, with balls in hand, immerse themselves in a game that goes beyond the simple entertainment. The author Ferran Dordal Lalueza, the composer Clara Aguilar, the set designer Marc Salicrú and the actor Albert Pérez Hidalgo form a quartet that has left a significant imprint on the contemporary scene.
The dissociation between text and action
Unlike previous works such as ‘Aurora’, which explored the game through the vision of actors with visual impairment, this proposal deepens the separation between what is said and what is done. As in the works of El Conde de Torrefiel, here the text is not limited to accompanying the action, but becomes an autonomous element that challenges the conventional narrative.
A game in Real Temps
In ‘Weltschmerz’, the work is articulated around the dynamics of the petanque game, where each launch represents a new idea, a thought that comes from a previous reflection. Thus, the audience is immersed in a flow of consciousness that resembles the way ideas move and intertwine.
The context of creation and irony of the moment
The work was developed during the confinement, a period that suspended time and led to a collective reflection on life. The petanque, with its slow and conversational ritornel, acts as a mirror of those days unemployed. Albert Pérez Hidalgo, in an introduction full of irony, emphasizes that the text that will follow is a ‘text of vintage’, reminding us that temporality influences our perception of reality.
A journey through contemporary concerns
The work not only focuses on the mechanics of the game, but also addresses topics such as competition in the artistic world, the fragility of human relationships and the influence of the algorithms on our lives. Dordal, with a direct and personal style, invites us to reflect on our own experiences and vulnerabilities.
A thought that flows like the game
The speech is presented as a maze of thoughts that are naturally developed, as the petanque balls move on stage. Ideas relate, intertwine, and lead us to an introspection on the ‘evils of our time’, as if each reflection was a careful launch towards understanding.
A stage experience that challenges expectations
As the work progresses, the players’ concentration moments are interspersed with actions by the set designer, which adjusts the space, providing a metatheatral dimension that reminds the audience that art is a living process. Thus, the scene is transformed into an invitation to stop and contemplate, to participate in a dialogue with which it is being presented.
An end open to reflection
With a closure that makes us question the relevance of the term ‘Weltschmerz’, the work leaves us with a feeling of curiosity and restlessness. In a world full of contradictions, Dordal reminds us that chaos can be our ally if we learn to deal with it. Petanque, then, is not only a game, but a metaphor for life itself, a space to explore the complexity of human existence.