Teatro La Re-Sentida “Oasis de La Impunidad” is new Chilean theatre that has been acclaimed by audiences and critics alike on its European tour.
“Oasis de La Impunidad”
Teatro La Re-Sentida “Oasis de la Impunidad” is thought-provoking new Chilean theatre about the abuse of power; at NYU Skirball Center at New York University in Greenwich Village; on Friday-Saturday, March 8-9, 2024 at 7:30pm. $50. nyuskirball.org 🇨🇱
This theatre (Oasis of Impunity, 2022) was inspired by the demonstrations and riots against inequality in Chile that were triggered by a subway fare hike in the capital in 2019. Chile has long been considered a stable country, but the government unleashed the military against its own people. Dozens died and thousands were arrested. Many, including women and children, were tortured and raped by government security forces. Violence for its own sake is absurd. For Chileans it was a bad déjà vu, a return of the state violence of the Pinochet dictatorship years.
“Oasis” was developed from a series of theater workshops in Chile. Hundreds of people participated, including survivors of the state violence. Community engagement is a big step in the healing process.
The piece looks at how state-sponsored violence takes root in society. In the show, one of the scenes shows a group of people all dressed the same, moving in the same robotic manner. That’s the crowd mentality that can be blinding and dangerous. The people have strange elfish ears as if to suggest that the country’s own people have somehow turned into monsters. They are contemplating the picture of a ghost, the ghost of Chilean dictatorship.
This is great theatre, but it’s not for the faint of heart. There are strobe lights, loud noises, nudity, and graphic depictions of physical and sexual violence. Welcome to the revolution. If you understand what that means, you won’t want to have one. Democracies offer another way to make change. It’s called elections.
Cultural Context
The context for “Oasis de la Impunidad” (Oasis of Impunity) is the revolutions and dictatorships of Latin America. Most revolutions trigger a decade of terrible civil war that mostly hurts innocents, from which it usually takes two or three generations to recover. Some countries never recover. In some way, all Latin Americans are scarred by the experience of colonization and dictatorship, but Chile is on another level.
The Pinochet coup and dictatorship (1974-1990) continues to affect Chileans two generations after it began. It affects young Chileans in two ways. One is an ingrained wariness of dictatorship. The other is the willingness to fight to prevent another dictatorship from taking power.
Soldiers fight with guns. Artists fight with art. Latin Americans have learned to fight metaphorically because fighting directly can get you beaten, jailed, tortured, or killed; and your family too. This makes Latin Americans very creative.
The play’s creative team is Marco Layera, Elisa Lero, and Martin Valdés-Stauber. It was developed during the pandemic in conversation with Münchner Kammerspiele, a German theatre company in Münich. That’s an interesting connection because Germans have also had to deal with the legacy of dictatorship. Their’s ended three generations ago, but many Germans remain scarred by the behavior of their great grandparents.
It’s important to recognize that with time and care, you can grow beautiful flowers out of some horrible shit. This is happening in New York City right now. What we call the Harlem Renaissance 3.0, a flowering of Black Arts, was triggered by the public police lynching of George Floyd in 2020. The reaction to the horror of that state violence, opened doors that were always shut to artists of color. The opening started in the Black community and has rippled into New York’s Latin and Asian communities. New Yorkers are turning that horror into something good. In this play, Chileans are turning their horror into something good.
Many Americans think revolutions and dictatorships only happen in undeveloped countries, but they can happen here too. Democracy is more fragile than we think. It’s difficult to build, but easy to destroy. Across history many advanced societies have fallen apart completely when a leader decides they are God. We all have a responsibility to be engaged. Many Latins dream of becoming Americans because they dream of living in a country that has respect for the rule of law. We cannot allow our country to become another oasis of impunity.
Teatro La Re-Sentida
Teatro La Re-Sentida is a Chilean theatre collective founded in Santiago, the Chilean capital, in 2008. Director Marco Layera was part of the founding team.
The Company’s name translates as “Theatre of the Resentful,” but their theatre isn’t only about complaining. They are very conscious of theatre’s transformative responsibilities. Teatro La Re-Sentida productions are designed to make you think, and even question your own assumptions.
Societies have tremendous cultural power. We are programmed by our cultures to think a certain way, without even realizing it. Sometimes it takes a kick in the head to see what is happening. Teatro La Re-Sentida is a strong kick in the head.
Their work often has a surreal absurdist quality. It’s a form of expression that makes you pay attention, but also reflects the experience of dictatorship. Dictatorship is absurd, but the greatest absurdity is allowing it.
Follow Teatro on Instagram @teatrolaresentida
Get tickets at nyuskirball.org