Almódovian Lysistrata at Merida Classical Theatre Festival

I think a performance of Lysistrata must have always been a controversial experience starting with the first in 411 BC.........an amazing 2421 years ago.

Aristophanis' play is a comical, verging on farcical account of one woman's unique mission to end the Peloponnesian War. Lysistrata rallies the women of Athens, Sparta and beyond to withhold sexual pleasures from their husbands and lovers as a means of forcing the men to negotiate peace, a strategy that inflames the battle between the sexes. The play is notable for its exposé of sexual relations in a male-dominated society and for its use of both double entendre and explicit obscenities. The dramatic structure represents a shift away from the conventions of ancient comedy to something innovative, a trend typical of Aristophanes' career.

The version at this years theatre festival in Merida had an extra layer of sexual ambiguity as all the leading female roles were played by men with some famous transsexual actors, but not in fact Lysistrata herself played by Paco León a popular comic actor who had never played a woman before.  They all looked gorgeous, very fetching in pseudo Grecian robes with added accessories such as huge platform sandals and cute little handbags.  The mens' roles were played by men who were far less glamorous, not to say a bit weedy or simply decrepit. The old mens' chorus that replaced the traditional old womans' chorus were very funny, portrayed as total misogynists , the star was a dwarf, maybe not very p.c. but dwarfs have to work too and he certainly held his own..........as it were. In one scene the chorus of old men were disrobed and shown in all their very sorry physical shape........I presume that part of their anatomy was some sort of false rubber appliance, I needed my binoculars to check this out. See photo.

Jérôme Savary, the director has created a version that is feminist, bold, transsexual, irreverent, funny and crazy, very reminicent of another great Spanish director,  Pedro Almódovar.

 Paco León played Lysistrata in a spectacular costume with one amazingly real looking exposed breast that somehow reinforced the feminine aspects of the play; amazons, breast cancer  etc. Transsexual aspects were reinforced in one of the final scenes with the campaigning women all waving the rainbow striped flag of the gay/transsexual movement.