Mort d’un comediant

The play

An actor facing his final performance

At some point, every playwright feels the temptation to write about the world of theatre. In Mort d’un comediant Guillem Clua does so by focusing on the actor. Described by critics as a love letter to theatre and its healing power, the play is a showcase for a great veteran actor with a command of both comedy and drama.

Adri, a young care worker, starts working in the home of Llorenç Cardona, one of Catalonia’s most respected and beloved actors. On his first day, his niece Miranda warns him that keeping the job will require following a long list of rules that go beyond his usual duties: in the final stretch of his life, Llorenç seems to have lost his mind and sometimes chooses to behave like the characters he has played throughout his long career, forcing Adri to play along. As they live together, Llorenç embodies all kinds of mythical characters while building an increasingly close relationship with his carer, who eventually discovers why the old actor has taken refuge in theatrical fiction: to escape a reality he is unable to face.

Mort d’un comediant is, above all, a love letter to theatre. A sincere tribute to the performing arts and to the universe built by those who have devoted their lives to them. The play reflects on the almost magical power of the stage: a space where laughter, emotion and understanding intertwine to help us endure—and perhaps understand—a world that so often seems absurd, chaotic or unbearable. It does so through Llorenç Cardona, a retired actor who has embodied every imaginable character. Heroes, villains, fools and lovers have inhabited his body. Yet he still has to play the most difficult and truthful role of all: himself.

At heart, we are all a little like Llorenç. To a greater or lesser extent, we are all performers. As one character says, we spend our lives playing the role of what we want to be. We perform before others: with colleagues, family, friends and partners. Our identity is built on a script we tailor and repeat without pause, in a rehearsal that never ends. And while we change genre—comedy, tragedy, melodrama, farce—we keep seeking the same thing: to enjoy the show. And, if possible, to leave the theatre with a smile on our lips.