Latin American Plays
Page 27
SD: Mistress of Desires pulls no punches on things which many people would find difficult to deal with. Did you consciously confront social and sexual taboos when writing it?
MVL: I have never planned any fiction in abstract or ideological ways. The first stimulus for all my novels and plays has always been very mysterious: some vague idea of a character, a situation, a relationship between some characters; and I have then followed my instincts as much as my reason and ideas.
SD: Some people might object to the strong sexual element, the erotic realism of this play. How would you respond to such criticism?
MVL: If you want to explore the realm of human desires, you must be prepared to be shocked by some very nasty things. This is a very complex world in which angels and devils are mixed in inextricable ways. I don’t think you can separate good, presentable themes in the dimension of the real world. But this play is in no way complacent. There is no deliberate exploitation of this subject. Nor does the play make any moral statement. It is a very literary work, about what literature is about and about some roots of fiction. But it is true that some very nasty aspects of desires and of the secret personality of human beings are explored and presented. I have tried very hard, without being evasive, not to be excessively factual about all this. The literary element is always present. And I rely very much on the director and the actors to reduce anything that might be offensive or excessively brutal or vulgar.
SD: Would you describe this play as anti-moralistic?
MVL: Yes. I hate hypocrisy. Our moral world, particularly in countries like Peru is based much more on hypocrisy than on real principles. You can read the play from this point of view very easily. All real and important Latin American literature clearly shows that there is a great gap between what we say we should do, and what we really do. This gap is there in the play, particularly in its moral perspective.
SD: In your introduction to Mistress of Desires, you criticise the ‘signs of sclerosis’ in contemporary theatre. What exactly do you mean by this?
MVL: Since the 1960s it has been fashionable to neglect or reject the text. Although this has produced some beautiful formal achievements, in general it has led to the decline of the theatre. It has produced something very ephemeral. The omnipotence of the director as the only master of the game was not good for the theatre, which cannot survive without the text. The text is essential for what theatre is for. This is changing now, and we are seeing a move away from improvised theatre and happenings towards a reappearance, a vindication of the text. The text is as important as the actor and director are for the survival and enrichment of the theatre. I don’t think the text limits the freedom, imagination or spontaneity of the director and actors. This is a prejudice. The text can be open to all kinds of initiatives and manipulations. An author must be modest and cannot claim any kind of privilege on his text. Unlike a novelist, who is an absolute, totalitarian sovereign, the playwright must be a very humble person who accepts that what he does is just a part of a very complex machine in which there are other factors as important as himself.
SD: How do you think Latin American theatre has developed over recent times?
MVL: I have always been very curious about the different evolutions of literary genres. I believe that the existence of literary genres is not arbitrary as people like Roland Barthes think. This was not something that was artificially imposed by 18th century literati. There is a very profound reason for the existence of different literary genres. You use drama, poetry or the novel to say very different things about the world, using words, fantasies, music or other elements in the case of theatre. I am also convinced that there are some links between literary genres and the social, historical, cultural and religious situation of a society. Each time someone has tried to describe this link in a scientific way the result has been very artificial and insufficient to get to the heart of the matter. It is true, however, that the theatre, which was the most important literary genre during colonial times, has been very poor in modern times in Latin America. There have been some exceptions but in general it has been very poor. I don’t know the reason. It may have something to do with the decline of the theatre in general in the world. Or because the theatre needs something more than just individual talent. It needs a social structure, an economic and social support in order to exist: you need audiences, you need theatres, you need a whole machine in order to be able to produce theatre. With some exceptions like Argentina, this has not existed, which has discouraged the theatrical imagination. This is a great pity because the theatre is a very rich and useful way of using imagination and words, of reacting vis-à-vis the world, and I love the theatre. It was my first vocation and I hope to keep writing plays.
This was a verbal interview conducted in English, in Berlin in February 1992.
A Nick Hern Book
Latin American Plays first published in Great Britain in 1996 as an original paperback by Nick Hern Books Ltd, The Glasshouse, 49a Goldhawk Road, London W12 8QP
This ebook first published in 2017
Rappaccini’s Daughter © 1996 Octavio Paz
Night of the Assassins © 1996 José Triana
Saying Yes © 1996 Griselda Gambaro
Orchids in the Moonlight © 1996 Carlos Fuentes
Mistress of Desires © 1996 Mario Vargas Llosa
Translations, Introduction and Interviews © 1996 Sebastian Doggart
Cover image by Oliver Gaiger
The authors of the original plays and the translator have asserted their moral rights
Typeset by Country Setting, Woodchurch, Kent TN26 3TB
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 85459 249 1 (print edition)
ISBN 978 1 78001 937 6 (ebook edition)
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