14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 6 April 2025 – When actor David Reyes, playing the role of Shakespeare, throws into the air the sheets of paper on which he has written his works, whilst Francis Ruiz, holding onto the lectern in the role of Shek, has at his feet the scull of Yorick, any experienced spectator might suspect that ‘Shakes’ runs the risk of being accused of being theatre about theatre.
This show, at the Bertolt Brecht Cultural Centre in Havana’s El Vedado district, is the sixth play by writer Reinaldo Montero that Sahily Moreda, director of the Cuartel Company, has brought to the stage over the last ten years.
If the audience reads the programme before the performance they’ll think they’ll be watching a strictly political play which criticises censorship and which shows the dilemmas that producers have with either needing to please those in power or to say what they need to say. A dilemma that is as current as it is difficult to tackle in today’s Cuba.
The presentation of this well-constructed piece is a relief and it encourages us to go back to the texts to find answers to the questions that it leaves us.
But ’Shakes’ seems to travel a different path. It’s not that the programme lies, but that the work is more demanding of its audience. In order to understand all the references you’d need an extensive knowledge of William Shakespeare. Those who have wide knowledge of the English playwright’s catalogue will be able to enjoy all the allusions to his works and laugh along with every knowing wink that the actors make towards his multiple themes.
The piece is a deep immersion into the Shakespearean world and the social and political setting through which he gave form to his characters, embracing also the pressures which the actor and poet himself endured. The play, directed by Moreda is the third in a tetralogy written by Moreno. The first was ’Liz’, which premiered in Havana in 2008, followed by ’Robin’, with the final part being ’Macbeth 2.0’. The enjoyment of all four parts could help in the understanding of each separate one.
But beyond mere comprehension, ’Shakes’ is enjoyable. In a city hit by power cuts and the difficulties of moving from one place to another, the presentation of this well-constructed piece is a relief and it encourages us to go back to the texts to find answers to the questions that it leaves us. I admit that I only went along to the Bertolt Brecht to escape a power cut where I live, but I came out recharged and illuminated.
Translated by Ricardo Recluso
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