With the approach of Christmas, comes the paradox that December is the august of the theaters, which are filled with proposals and novelties for what many consider the most endearing days of the year. One of them takes place in a bakery workshopbut you can enjoy it in the Teatro Fígaro (Calle del Dr. Cortezo, 5) until next January 15.
Is named A comprehensive therapy and combines comedy, spirituality and reflection. In her, Toni Roca (Antonio Molero) does the times of coach to, while teaching bakery classes, detect what is left over in the lives of his students to self-actualize and help them get rid of it.
This original method has been successful for ten years in which it has been devastated and very few are privileged to get a place to learn about the skills of the guru under the premise “to make good bread, you don’t need the best flour or the most yeast.” fresh, to make a good bread you only need to be good with yourself”.
At work, a crust that is not crispy can be synonymous with labor problems, a crumb that is too dense is surely indicative of a relationship crisis, and bland bread can only be the result of an unsatisfactory sex life. Conceived and directed by Cristina Clemente and Marc Angelet, this story also features Marta Poveda (Central Market), Esther Ortega (The shame) and César Camino (Agitation +VAT) in his cast.
We spoke with Antonio Molero (Ajofrín, 1968)who began his career as an actor in the theater, participating in numerous productions such as Strangers, Don Juan Tenorio Y Runs by Francisco Ortuno. Between 1995 and 1999, she participated in the well-known fiction Family doctorwhich catapulted his popularity and, among many other jobs, between 2003 and 2009 he starred in the series The Serranosobtaining a new success in his television career at the hands of the easygoing Fiti.
What difference to A comprehensive therapy?
It is seen simply by the scenery, which is far from conventional. It is not a living room or a kitchen, which are the places where comedy is conventionally done. The beginning creates a lot of expectations in the public, since the three characters are seen waiting for the course to start, although shortly after it is seen that there is much more than that, more mystery. The teacher, who is me, takes time to appear and the students begin to get impatient, because it is a very elitist course, they have paid a lot of money and they are the three chosen. Later I appear and it is seen that what seemed like a course to make bread is, in reality, a therapy. This will be familiar to viewers, because both baking and alternative therapies are very fashionable after the pandemic, which made us rethink many things on an existential and spiritual level.
Does the whole show take place in the bakery workshop?
Yes, and it also takes place in the same day. There are about four acts and these have to do with the bread-making process: mixing, kneading, resting, and baking.
The work exposes how these alternatives grow as spiritual aid to the detriment of religion. Where does this need to believe in something come from?
It comes from the fact that we are intelligent beings that we do not stop asking ourselves questions and many of them are always in the air. The process of life reflects that one is born and one has to die, and in the end, in moments of insecurity, some insecurity or in difficult circumstances, one needs something to hold on to. Religion is in clear decline, there is another type of spirituality on the rise: we are always looking for something, intangible.
Have you been inspired by any real guru to prepare Toni Roca?
No, firstly because it’s not my way of working, I don’t like to document myself in another character or in another actor who has done something similar, because then I have the urgent need to imitate him and in the end a kind of hybrid between mine and what comes out. of the other that I do not like. So I choose to do it without references, because I think the result is more authentic, even though the process is more laborious.
What is the best of the theater?
When the work has already taken shape and you begin to present it and see how the audience reacts, they comment, they laugh… the days before are the worst, there are always certain nerves and uncertainty.
It is enough for his character to feel the masses of his students to make a diagnosis. What would the mass of Antonio Molero give away?
Toni Roca assures that he detects the weight that is left over in your life and that you have to burn. In the play, the three backpacks of the students are money, a toxic relationship and the third excess of responsibility, and I think it is the same as It happens to me, although it is not something that does not let me live.
Any advice for new actors?
A lot of patience, because this is not easy, especially because of the problem since the strike. Many people want to dedicate themselves to this and, although it seems that more and more possibilities are emerging, that is a mirage. In other words, it is true that there are many platforms and many series are filmed, but there are more and more actors and actresses, so it is essential to be patient, stay there and keep working. Not waiting at home, but setting up small-format things in small rooms to write and set it up yourself… the worst thing an aspiring actor can do is wait for a casting call. If they call, fine, but it better catch you doing other things.
What residue would you like to leave in the public?
Well, people leave the theater saying “how I laughed” and also “what a comedy so different from the others.” I would like them to continue commenting on it in the neighborhood. And I believe that this is going to happen, that this function is not one of those that ends when the curtain closes, but rather that there is another act afterwards. It gives rise to reflection and that is wonderful, because much more is recommended later.