Esteve Soler

Esteve Soler was born in Barcelona in 1976 and teaches playwriting at the Sala Beckett. His works have been premiered at major Catalan theatres like the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya (»Jo sóc un altre!«) and the Teatre Lliure (»Davant de l’home«). »Memòria« premiered at the Bell Theatre in London. Since 2008, the trilogy »Contra el progress«, »Contra l’amor« and »Contra la democràcia« has been translated into six languages and has seen nearly 30 productions, not only in Europe, but also in the United States and South America. Esteve Soler lives in Barcelona.

© internationales literaturfestival berlin

ESTEVE SOLER, SPAIN
»CONTRA LA DEMOCRÀCIA« (AGAINST DEMOCRACY)

In seven short, unconnected and self-contained scenes, Esteve Soler demonstrates the excesses of our times. An absurd and grotesque atmosphere in the tradition of the horror scenarios of “Grand Guignol” lends force to the individual stories. Something clearly is going fundamentally wrong here when parents wake up their son in the middle of the night and tell him that he was unwanted and they will now shoot him. Or in another scene, where suddenly none of the characters can remember which number follows the number six. Watching Soler’s simultaneously funny and sinister stories, the audience’s laughter will soon stick in their throats.