Teatro Minimo

I remember when I first starting writing this blog and asked around a few folk about any hidden gems they might have stuffed up their sleeves, the lovely Hannah mentioned that she´d just been to something called ´Teatro Minimo´ at ´Un Gato en Bicicleta´ on Calle Regina near the Setas (frankly everything right now seems to be in spitting distance from my favourite urban waffles). But I’m ashamed to say that this was back in September and it’s taken me over six months to drag my sorry arse over to see a performance.

So on Friday evening, I fancied taking in some easily accessible cultcha and Teatro Minimo fitted the bill perfectly. This is theatre ‘light’ as each performance lasts just 15 minutes which helps when you’re watching in something other than your mother tongue. The venues and theme varies from month to month, but are usually based in and around the aforementioned hipsterish bookshop ‘Un Gato en Bicicleta’ while taking advantage of other shops and bars nearby.

This month the theme is loosely based around Medicine, I say loosely as the first playette (as I hear by name it) was about a Zombie invasion that centres around a doctors surgery, with the primary victim being the local doctor. The audience were seated in the mocked up surgery waiting room and were regularly addressed (and mauled) during the performance. It was a comedy, which can be risky choice for me as I still sometimes miss the punchlines in Spanish humour, but it was genuinely funny, and scary at times (although I appeared to be the only member of the audience burying their head into my neighbour’s arm).

We just had time to squeeze in another 15 minuter, which was round the corner at Abaceria La Reina. As a bar in its own right, it’s got to be one of the smallest I’ve ever been in, so to fit in a theatre performance was a feat in itself. Precariously positioned upstairs, we watched ‘La Cara y el Espejo’ (The Face and the Mirror) which was cautionary tale about Cosmetic Surgery drawing on Gothic horror classic Frankenstein. There was a bit of ham acting going on at times, which might have been more noticeable as the actors are within inches from the audience, but they just about managed to get away with it.

The Medicine theme continues for the month of April, from Thursdays to Sundays and also features two other pieces, ‘Decisión Asistida´ and ´Branca´. Performances start from 8pm, but you can dip in and out as you choose, with the last sitting at about 10.40pm. This is easily digestible theatre, from the easy on the pocket prices (4 Euros per piece), to the even easier on the palette Ribera enjoyed at ´Abaceria La Reina´. And for any Guiris out there, it´s the perfect way to tentatively dip your toe in the sometimes intimidating waters of Spanish theatre, without sinking like lead to the incomprehensible, murky bottom.