Jordi Casanovas

**JORDI CASANOVAS GÜELL**
*Vilafranca del Penedès, 1978*
Playwright, theater director, and screenwriter.

He has written over forty theatrical works, including notable titles such as *Immunitat* (La Villarroel, 2022), *Gazoline* (Teatro Conde Duque, 2019), *Valenciana, la realidad no es suficiente* (Teatro Principal Valencia, 2019), *La danza de la venganza* (La Villarroel, 2019), *Jauría* (Teatro Kamikaze, 2019), *Mala broma* (Sala Muntaner, 2018), *Port Arthur* (2016, Festival Grec), *Idiota* (Sala Muntaner, 2015), *Vilafranca* (Teatros amigos / Teatro Libre, 2015), *Ruz-Bárcenas* (Teatro del Barrio, 2014), *Una historia catalana* (TNC, June 2011/2013), *Patria* (Teatro Libre, 2012), *Un hombre con gafas de pasta* (SALAFlyHard, 2010), and *La Revolución* (La Villarroel, 2009).

He...

**JORDI CASANOVAS GÜELL**
*Vilafranca del Penedès, 1978*
Playwright, theater director, and screenwriter.

He has written over forty theatrical works, including notable titles such as *Immunitat* (La Villarroel, 2022), *Gazoline* (Teatro Conde Duque, 2019), *Valenciana, la realidad no es suficiente* (Teatro Principal Valencia, 2019), *La danza de la venganza* (La Villarroel, 2019), *Jauría* (Teatro Kamikaze, 2019), *Mala broma* (Sala Muntaner, 2018), *Port Arthur* (2016, Festival Grec), *Idiota* (Sala Muntaner, 2015), *Vilafranca* (Teatros amigos / Teatro Libre, 2015), *Ruz-Bárcenas* (Teatro del Barrio, 2014), *Una historia catalana* (TNC, June 2011/2013), *Patria* (Teatro Libre, 2012), *Un hombre con gafas de pasta* (SALAFlyHard, 2010), and *La Revolución* (La Villarroel, 2009).

He has received the Ciudad de Valencia Award for *Estralls*, the Ciutat d’Alcoi Award in 2005 for *Beckenbauer*, the Marqués de Bradomín Award in 2005 for *Andorra*, and the José Robrenyo Award in 2002 for *Las mejores ocasiones*. The trilogy composed of *Wolfenstein*, *Tetris*, and *City / Simcity* received the Barcelona Critics Award for the revelation of the 2006-07 season, the Crítica Serra d’Or Award for Best Theatrical Text of 2006, and nominations for the Butaca Awards and the Max Awards. He won the Butaca Award for Best Theatrical Text in 2009 for *La Revolución*, the Time Out Award for Best Play of 2011 for *Un hombre con gafas de pasta*, the Butaca Award for Best Theatrical Text of 2011 for *Una Historia Catalana*, the Ciudad de Barcelona Theater Award in 2012 for *Patria*, the Butaca Award for Best Theatrical Text of 2015 for *Vilafranca*, the Leonardo Scholarship from the BBVA Foundation in 2018 for *Valenciana*, the Max Award for Best Theatrical Show for *Jauría*, and the Max Award for Best Adaptation or Theatrical Version for *Jauría*. He was also honored with the National Culture Award of Catalonia in 2022.

Scripts

THE DANCE OF VENGEANCE

by Jordi Casanovas

Synopsis

A couple separates after years of marriage, but neither party is content with just picking up the pieces. They accuse each other of having destroyed the love that once united them and of being a bad influence on their young child, who becomes a bargaining chip in their quest for revenge.

Jordi Casanovas delivers a precise and striking dissection of a couple in decay, who engage in a progressive masquerade...

A couple separates after years of marriage, but neither party is content with just picking up the pieces. They accuse each other of having destroyed the love that once united them and of being a bad influence on their young child, who becomes a bargaining chip in their quest for revenge.

Jordi Casanovas delivers a precise and striking dissection of a couple in decay, who engage in a progressive masquerade, confronting each other until the bitter end.

PORT ARTHUR

by Jordi Casanovas

Synopsis

A man has been arrested. He is accused of having committed a terrible crime. He remembers nothing. Two police inspectors question him. Today is their last chance to get him to confess. Do they want him to remember? Or do they simply want him to sign a confession that incriminates him?

Every word in this text was spoken in an interrogation room at Risdon Prison in Tasmania, Australia, on July 4, 1996. The...

A man has been arrested. He is accused of having committed a terrible crime. He remembers nothing. Two police inspectors question him. Today is their last chance to get him to confess. Do they want him to remember? Or do they simply want him to sign a confession that incriminates him?

Every word in this text was spoken in an interrogation room at Risdon Prison in Tasmania, Australia, on July 4, 1996. The transcript of this interrogation was leaked online and can be found on media activism sites like Wikileaks, giving rise to various conspiracy theories surrounding the case. Many wonder if what the protagonists say is true or false.

I.D.I.O.T.

by Jordi Casanovas

Synopsis

A man participates in some well-paid psychological tests. What he thinks will be an easy and straightforward way to earn the money he needs to solve his financial problems turns into a real trap. An attractive psychologist will ask him questions and riddles that will make him nervous and force him to bring out the best in himself to avoid a fatal end.

A dark, fun, and suspenseful game that will push the...

A man participates in some well-paid psychological tests. What he thinks will be an easy and straightforward way to earn the money he needs to solve his financial problems turns into a real trap. An attractive psychologist will ask him questions and riddles that will make him nervous and force him to bring out the best in himself to avoid a fatal end.

A dark, fun, and suspenseful game that will push the protagonist to the limits of his patience and sanity. It is also a game for the audience, who will have to solve the different obstacles presented to the protagonist from their own seat.

BAD JOKE

by Jordi Casanovas

Synopsis

Two old friends reunite. When they were young, they hosted a humorous radio show together. Now, one of them has found success as a comedian but is being harassed on social media, while the other has failed as a journalist but married the woman they both desired. They make a bet on a topic they are passionate about: the boundaries of humor. Will the journalist be able to make the strongest joke he can imagine...

Two old friends reunite. When they were young, they hosted a humorous radio show together. Now, one of them has found success as a comedian but is being harassed on social media, while the other has failed as a journalist but married the woman they both desired. They make a bet on a topic they are passionate about: the boundaries of humor. Will the journalist be able to make the strongest joke he can imagine about his own wife?

MALA BROMA is a comedy that pushes its characters to the edge of humor, the edge of honesty, and the edge of friendship. It’s a game where the three characters hide some secrets that, between one joke and another, will come to light.

JAURÍA

by Jordi Casanovas

Synopsis

3 a.m. on July 7, 2016. The San Fermín Festival. They are five friends who call themselves "La Manada" (The Pack). The youngest among them must undergo an initiation rite. After encountering a girl in the center of Pamplona, they offer to walk her to her car, which is parked on the outskirts of the city. However, along the way, one of them gains access to the lobby of a building and calls the others. They take...

3 a.m. on July 7, 2016. The San Fermín Festival. They are five friends who call themselves "La Manada" (The Pack). The youngest among them must undergo an initiation rite. After encountering a girl in the center of Pamplona, they offer to walk her to her car, which is parked on the outskirts of the city. However, along the way, one of them gains access to the lobby of a building and calls the others. They take the young woman and force her inside.

Documentary theater is a form of theater that bases its dramaturgy on real events. *Jauría*—premiered in Madrid in 2019—is a production centered around the trial of the five members of "La Manada" for a gang rape.

This play was created from the transcripts of the highly publicized trial that took place between 2017 and 2019, incorporating excerpts from the statements of both the defendants and the complainant, as published in various media outlets. It is a documentary fiction that allows us to delve into the minds of the victim and her aggressors. A trial in which the complainant is re-victimized, forced to disclose more intimate details than the accused themselves. This case shook the concepts of masculinity, consent, and sexual assault in our society, marking a before and after.