Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

“Crónica de una muerte anunciada”

To Stage – PROGRAMMING

In my summer ramblings, I take myself for a show producer, and I dream of great texts with great staging.

Chronique d’une mort annoncée / Chronicle of a Death Foretold is one of those few novels that made me go through the night without sleeping. I had to finish it.

As an incredible exploration of human souls, this novel is a master. I mean, its author is a master of humanity.

The idea is almost simple: an entire village knows that on this day, at this time, in this place, Santiago Nasar will be murdered by two brothers – twins, so called : “the twins” – to, they say, avenge their sister’s honour.

Not one or two people. The whole village. Except Santiago Nasar.

And – as the title says – he will be killed by the two brothers.
It’s not based on suspense, it starts it’s all over long ago.
On the other hand, the narrator, a friend of the dead man, realizes little by little, trying to understand, that everyone knew.
And no one, no one has warned Santiago Nasar.

Yet he did not have only enemies – on the contrary.
And this is where the dive into “us” begins: what will make that we will not have said anything?
The strongest thing is that each character we meet will have an excellent reason for not having said anything.
Well, excellent – understandable.
For example, me, towards the end of the day, I would never have gone to see him to warn him, ALWAYS, that the twins were waiting for him. It’s all in that “always”.

We think in other people’s places.
We – I put me in the lot – anticipate the words of others. The actions of others. Other people’s reactions. And based on what we have simply imagined, we act.

And there: big mistake.

In the same way, the twins were hoping that someone would come and stop them in their plan. They had told everyone about it. And then that was it. Nobody came. They were obliged to avenge the family honour. And take years of jail time.

You can’t escape your fate. That could be the first lesson.
But the truth is that we humans spend our lives thinking we’re little gods who know what’s in other people’s heads. And that every once in a while, an author who makes us aware of our morgue, it feels good.

Amazon Rivers

How many love stories have exploded starting with: “I know you don’t really love me“? – we don’t know anything, we didn’t get what we hoped for, we’re upset, we feel unassailable because we’re sad – and hop, “allowed to kill” our pretty love.

It is for this reason – which we have all known – that I find this fundamental text to be put together, to be shared, to be brought to life in every possible way.

However, as a challenge, it promises to be of the highest level.

In the cinema, it gave a nice little thing – and long – because, as everything is seen afterwards, there’s no action.
No suspense – none of the traditional filmmaking.

On stage, this is not a major problem: that’s why the adaptation on stage seems more relevant to me than on film.
But it will take: an excellent writer who can adapt this, an excellent director who will know how to give life and body to all this terrible humanity described by Gabriel Garcia Marquez – and an outstanding actor to play the narrator.
Out of the ordinary, because he will be the one who “gives birth” to the souls, the memories – and that requires exceptional humanity in the play.

Gentlemen? A volunteer?

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