Simon Ward reviews How To Cry In A House Full Of Children at The Space Theatre

It is very difficult for me to write about this one woman play, as most of it is performed in Spanish, a language I do not speak. Originating in Uruguay, written by Victoria Vera Venturini and performed by Carolina Piñeyro Duarte, there is just enough subtitling and English language scaffolding to provide some clues as to the content, but to really appreciate its power, you would need to be a Spanish speaker. From the ripples of laughter running through the audience it is clear that some of them had found their way to the Isle of Dogs for this one-off performance as part of the Voila! festival. Voila! is described as ‘a panlingual festival platforming emerging artists and theatre that might be considered too political or uncomfortable for bigger venues’. The Space is certainly an intimate venue, and this show could well be described as ‘panlingual’. The theatre is a former Presbyterian place of worship and it has the feel of a church hall about it. It could also be called rather austere. So when Carolina Piñeyro Duarte bursts onto the scene radiating intense Latina energy and emotion, the place literally lights up.

The piece is described as partially translated. There are amusing surtitles for each scene in English. And there are subtitled videos which are constitute a fly-on-the-wall view of the rehearsal process. At one point I was handed a note containing the English translation of the scene being played, but it was impossible to follow in real time. Other than that we are driven forward by the sheer power of Piñeyro Duarte’s performance. She is a force of nature, utterly committed to the role. The theme of the show is motherhood, an up-close look at the real-life experience, with no sugar coating or soft focus. Although very much grounded in its South American origins, the play reminds us that its themes are universal. We hear about the crazy lustful desires – maybe that led to the children, maybe that are held in check by their relentless demands. There is a half-hilarious, half-demented scene with a traffic warden, just doing his job, but who is threatening to leave Mum and kids without their car. The piece comes full circle at the end and Mum is in turn looking after her own mother. Now she has time to reflect and remember all the kindnesses and all the love that she took for granted.

This is a warm, open-hearted show. There are no doubt subtleties to it which I missed, but I came away with an impression of a beautiful homage to motherhood with none of the mess or chaos left out. I would love to see this with a full translation – still performed in Spanish so the passion is not lost, but with surtitles available so the full richness can be appreciated.

How To Cry In A House Full Of Children was performed at The Space Theatre on Friday 6th November. The Voila! Theatre Festival is running at multiple venues until Saturday 22nd November