Two women, a mother and her daughter, embark on a long journey south to Bariloche. There, a man awaits them. He is a father and grandfather and lives alone in the place where his daughter, who is now a mother and is about to visit him with her granddaughter, was born and raised. But sometimes, the important thing is not to arrive, what matters is the journey. And on this journey, which is long, very long, many things will happen. So many things will be said that they will forever transform the bond between the two and, perhaps more importantly, the bond each of them has with themselves.
“Forest Inside”, the play written by Carla Moure and directed by Corina Florillo, proposes, in a very original way, this scenic journey of more than a thousand kilometers aboard an old van where Inés Estévez, the mother, and Agustina Benavides ( “The Sleepwalkers”, “The Wrath of God”), the daughter, will reveal the reasons for a trip that will move their lives geographically and emotionally.
Premiered in April of last year at the 25 de Mayo theater in Buenos Aires, “Bosque adentro” (Bosque adentro) arrives this Saturday in Neuquén for a double screening, at 9 and 11 pm, at the Cine Teatro Español. Tickets are on sale at Flipper (Av. Argentina 179) and at the theater box office, cash only; and by system through plateanet.com.
“When I read the work I loved it, it seemed like a transit that appears to be a gentle, intimate journey, but it has a very intense journey that combines humor and I always liked the combination,” says Inés Estévez, at the beginning of a dialogue telephone with RIO NEGRO Newspaper.
This work has the simplicity of being carried forward by actions. I really like when a work is supported by acting.”
Ines Estevez
“It is a work that talks about relationships, it is a long journey with everything that entails, in a rickety van with her daughter; and what is wonderful about the work is that the people who start the journey will in no way be the ones who reach the destination,” she reveals. “On that journey, transformations occur, secrets are revealed, certain truths are revealed that end up transforming them. It is a journey that really transforms the bond between the two of them and most likely the bond each of them has with themselves.”
As soon as she read the play, Inés was delighted with the text, which combines dramatic circumstances with humorous ones, something she usually considers when choosing a play. “I really enjoy it,” admits the actress of “La vida según Muriel” and Pipa,” among other films. “It goes through many different emotional states, it has dialogues, it has soliloquies, it has many feelings and emotions, I love that journey. And the simplicity of a play that is carried forward by the acting. I really like it when a play is supported by acting.”
Where does Inés Estévez find that crossover between drama and humor? “There are certain instances, situations in the work in which the typical clumsiness of fathers and mothers when faced with adolescent problems, when motherhood is like that of the character, a young motherhood, who has grown up with her daughter and has raised her alone,” stands out. “There are situations where a limit should be established and the mother does not have the means to establish it and she does it wrong. That encounter between the adult person that one already is and the childish person that one has not stopped being, that kind of hard-fought boundary between those two flanks generates certain situations that are hilarious.”
Deep in the woods, scenic road movie
An actress with more than thirty years of experience in film, theatre and television, Estévez approached the role of a woman who had to be a mother at a very young age and alone with great expectation and enjoyment. “I was excited to embody a character who has many difficulties communicating because of her upbringing. She is someone from a generation that could have been more open, but she has had certain difficulties that are revealed in the work and that have marked her way of relating, she has had to be a little masculine in her performance in life. In that sense, the daughter is more communicative and open. Composing that type of facet, delving into the life of a neurotypical mother when my personal motherhood is totally neurodiverse, I have two girls with disabilities, going through that type of conflict that I do not go through in real life is pleasant for me, interesting to go through.”
Beyond the fact that the story takes place between a mother and a daughter, it is not just about them: there are other omniscient male characters who are, in a way, omnipresent in the lives of both. “We are all children, parents, we have all separated at some point, we all have exes and so in some way people identify with the conflict and generate a lot of support. And what also happens with all this is that people get excited and have fun at the same time. It is a very pleasant combination,” she admits.
The reason for such a road trip is in the development of the work, says Estévez. “Mother and daughter have a super familiar daily relationship, they have practically grown up together and beyond the fact that there is a father and an ex-husband, it is a clearly monomaternal situation. It is a fluid, daily and very familiar relationship and what takes them to the south is something that will be revealed throughout the journey that is the work itself. They are going to see the character of my father, my daughter’s grandfather, a person who lives in a very hermit-like way in a place where I grew up, where my character was born and raised. The reason is revealed along the way.”
What was it like to represent a journey of more than a thousand kilometers without leaving the surface of a stage? “It was a discovery by Corina Florillo, who is an incredible director,” says Inés without hesitation. “To avoid static, there is a set that is like an old van that is divided into two and the characters get on and off from one of the parts throughout the trip. On the other hand, there is a visual, a mapping, that illustrates the trip and that helps a lot with the setup.”
“Bosque interior” will offer a double feature, at 9 p.m. and 11 p.m., this Saturday, at the Cine Teatro Español.
«Forest inside»: technical sheet
Cast: Ines Estevez and Agustina Benavides
Original music: Tomas Pol
Costume Design: Carla Moure and Murilo Brito
Set design: Nicholas Pol
Realization of scenery: Walter Domingo Lamas and Maite Corona
Illumination design: Ricardo Sica
Visual design: Moreno Pereyra
Production coordination: Luciano Heredia
Photography: Diego Lopez
Director’s assistant: Varinia Anzorena
Address: Corina Florillo
Authorship: Carla Moure
Thanks: Pablo Culell
Duration: 60 minutes
