The exotic animal that revolutionized Mallorcan theatre

PalmIt was the first half of the 1980s. They were young, very young, and everything seemed possible. Well, everything... except making a living in Mallorca doing theater. But they managed that too. Iguana Teatre, a company that has been key to the Mallorcan theater scene, made its debut in November 1985 with a party at the Palma studio of painter Horacio Sapere. Forty years have now passed since then.

It all began just a year earlier, in 1984, with the Center for Theatrical Experimentation (CET), in the Theater Workshop of the University of the Balearic Islands, directed by Pere Noguera. A faculty lobby was transformed into a stage where a group of strange characters, inspired by the world of Samuel Beckett, roamed freely. That was ExpectingThe next show, Mandatory theater -after Mandatory Cabaret—, based on texts by Karl Valentin, gained access to what was then known in Palma as the 'Pre-Festival of Theatre': a space for island companies, as a complement to that international festival featuring big names from the world stage. The fragment in which a very young Juan Carlos Bellviure advocated—as the title indicated—for making theatre attendance mandatory caused a sensation, its characterization strongly reminiscent of the then Vice President of the Spanish government, Alfonso Guerra.

As Carles Molinet, one of the founders of Iguana, recalls, it was then that a small group from among the approximately fifteen people who made up the CET (Centro de Teatro de Palma) considered going further: forming a smaller team with a stable structure. They needed a name, a text to stage, and a van for the performances for which they were hired.

They mixed a lot of possible names until the finalists, so to speak, were narrowed down to three: Okapi, which suggested a rare, endangered animal; La Podrida (The Rotten One), since 'La...' was often used in the performing arts at the time, and it was considered transgressive; and what remained: La Iguana (The Iguana), later Iguana Teatro (Iguana Theatre). Of course, they had Tennessee Williams' classic play in mind, The Night of the IguanaBut here it was more about the animal itself, something repulsive, if you will, and spiky: not very welcoming. It was a good symbol because, as Molinet explains, "we didn't want to create feel-good theater," for easygoing people.

From the nightclub to 'Night of Fire'

The founding group consisted of actors Joan Carles Bellviure, Rafel Vives, Bárbara Quetglas, Antoni Picó, Carles Molinet, and Bárbara Serra; technician Gabriel González del Valle; set and costume designer Jaume Llabrés; and director Pere Fullana. A proper presentation was necessary, and artist Horacio Sapere—who designed the group's first poster—lent his studio in the Monti-sion area of Palma's historic center. Thus, La Iguana was born in November 1985, forty years ago.

The piece chosen for their first performance was Malignant polypusBy Jordi Begueria. A play set in a field hospital during World War I, somewhere between absurdity, science fiction, and anti-war sentiment. Those on one side were blond; those on the other, dark-haired. But the dark-haired doctor—Molinet—sported a white streak in his hair, a sign of his ambiguity. It was supposed to premiere that same year, 1985, at the Teatro Principal in Palma, but it wasn't presented to the public until April 1986.

Back then, making a living from theater in Mallorca was a pipe dream. As was the idea of a professional orchestra—but this was created shortly afterward, in 1988. Only Xesc Forteza could conduct it, not even the members of his company. But the Ministry of Culture, which at that time, with the autonomous communities still in their infancy, controlled public funding, required that the companies receiving it be legally incorporated. Iguana did it using a cooperative model among its members.

Around this same time, Iguana received a commission that would simultaneously bring them money and allow them to train in another aspect of performance: creating a series of shows for an open-air nightclub on the Levante coast of Mallorca. With this experience, and drawing on the festive tradition of Mallorcan devils, Iguana was born in 1988. Night of FireA participatory show and probably the most well-attended in the company's history, given the massive audiences at each of its 132 performances—up to 2003—not only in the Balearic Islands, but also in Galicia, La Rioja, and Portugal.

La Iguana soon demonstrated its versatility by tackling shows of very diverse styles. On the one hand, the classics: starting with an excellent Forced marriage, by Molière, in 1987, and continuing with other texts by Labiche, Dostoevsky, Büchner, Musset, and Wilde, among others. Furthermore, the recovery of Mallorcan memory, whether this RondayasOn the one hand, there are the hors d'oeuvres, or the old cafes. And on the other, new creations, such as Myotragus (1989), inspired by the island's prehistory and premiered in the cathedral square of Oviedo, or Half of nothing (1994), which reflected the concern at the time about the conflict in the Balkans.

The decisive stay at the Lecoq school

The group underwent a transformation. Bárbara Quetglas and Rafel Vives left the company after being recruited by La Fura dels Baus. Actress Aina Salom, who has since become a key figure in Iguana, and technician Antoni Gómez joined. In 1992, set designer Jordi Banal became part of the collective. At this point, and after four decades, the 'who's who' of the Mallorcan scene has graced its stages: among many names, the much-missed Maruja Alfaro, Catalina Alorda, co-founder of Diabéticas Aceleradas Joan Bauçà, Aina Cortés, Antoni Gomila, Nies Jaume, Rafe Xim Vidal... And, in other fields, the writer Gabriel Galmés, the philologists Josep A. Grimalt and Carme Planells, the visual artists Ferran Aguiló, Susy Gómez and Tatúm, and the musicians Antoni Caimari and Víctor Uris, among others.

A "before and after" in Iguana's career, as Molinet acknowledges, was his time in Paris, studying at Jacques Lecoq's school: Aina Salom, Juan Carlos Bellviure, Pere Fullana, and he himself were among those who attended. After that experience, they were able to acquire "their own expression, a way of telling stories" that has characterized them ever since. One of their most memorable shows was largely a product of that learning process. Twist & Chechkov (1995), based on stories by the Russian writer.

In 1996, Iguana Teatre undertook –a major undertaking– its first Shakespeare production: Measure by measureIn 2002 it was the turn of MacbethAnd here, 'the Scottish tragedy' provided further proof – one more – of the bad luck that has plagued it for centuries. Ten days before the scheduled premiere, one of the actors, Miquel Ruiz, fell ill with a fever of 40 degrees Celsius. Even closer to the debut, it was Molinet's own turn. The entire first week of performances had to be cancelled. Although it was later a resounding success: at the Alcántara Festival (Extremadura), it was applauded by 1,800 spectators.

Carles Molinet acknowledges that Night of Fire It's one of the flagship titles of this company, which has already doubled the maximum lifespan of the animal it's named after. But it also stands out Swell, the first co-production of the legendary Teatre Lliure of Barcelona with a company from the Islands; The death of Vassili Karkov, further proof of the company's taste for Russian literature; or, of course, Twist & Chekhovwith a language that was unusual at the time on the Mallorcan scene. These are just some of the fifty shows –it's hard to believe it will be that long– that this company has created in its forty-year history, which it is now celebrating.

Information compiled from the books published by Iguana Teatre on the occasion of its twentieth, twenty-fifth, and thirty-fifth anniversaries and texts by Javier Matesanz, Antoni Nadal, and Sònia Capella Soler.