University of Richmond UR Scholarship Repository Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies Faculty Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies Publications 12-2004 Sergi Belbel's Theatre of Pain Sharon G. Feldman University of Richmond,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/lalis-faculty-publications Part of the Dramatic Literature, Criticism and Theory Commons Recommended Citation Feldman, Sharon G. "Sergi Belbel's Theatre of Pain." Revista Hispanica Moderna 57, no. 1/2 (December 2004): 241-66. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies at UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Latin American, Latino and Iberian Studies Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. SERGI BELBEL'STHEATRE OF PAIN DINS la seva memoria("Within his Memory"), a Catalan play written by Sergi Bel- bel in 1986, begins in total darkness, an imprecise empty void in which the spectator hears only the deep, rhythmic gasps and sighs of the anonymous pro- tagonist. ' As the stage lights slowly rise during this "preliminary"scene, Ell (or, "He," as the protagonist is generically called) is depicted on his knees, mastur- bating with his back to the audience. At first glance, his violent, self-inflicted pleasure may be interpreted as an ultimate affirmation of life; yet, his autoerot- ic gestures are also imbued with memories that carry with them tremendous pain and torment, for as he gazes at his reflection in a mirror hanging above the stage, he "sweatsblood" (according to the stage directions) and is remind- ed of the tragic death of his identical twin brother in an automobile accident some years earlier.