Skin in Flames

The image that changed a war

Skin in Flames is one of Guillem Clua’s most internationally produced works . Critics agree in praising its innovative structure and its intelligent take on the media and politics in wartime. It has received numerous awards, including the Ciutat d’Alcoi (which the author won for a second time), Barcelona’s Serra d’Or Critics’ Prize for best play in 2005, and other recognitions in several US cities.

Frederick Salomon, a photojournalist who became famous by capturing the image of a girl blown into the air by an explosion, returns to the country where he took the well-known photograph twenty years earlier. He is back to collect an award, since many consider him crucial to recent efforts to bring peace to the troubled country, but a local journalist, Hanna, disagrees. As she interviews Salomon in a hotel room, they debate and question the role of the United Nations in its relationship with Third World countries, the merchandising of violent images and, above all, what exactly happened on the fateful day the picture was taken. At the same time, another couple’s story unfolds in the same theatrical space, although they are unaware of the others’ presence. Dr Brown makes a routine visit to Ida, a local woman whose daughter is in a coma in the city hospital. Ida offers sexual favours in exchange for medical treatment that could save her daughter’s life—or even move her to live in the West.

The two contrasting scenes of deception and desperation gradually weave together a plot that the audience assembles from the fragments left behind by war. Who was the girl in the photograph? How did that image change her life, her country and the world? And what will be the consequences of the terrible dilemmas facing all the characters?

Skin in Flames takes audiences on an emotional and intellectual journey that becomes a true challenge, forcing them to consider and question the line dividing the powerful from the vulnerable. With a dramatic structure of perfect theatrical clockwork and real elements drawn from the newspapers we read every day, Guillem Clua’s award-winning play brings together the best of form and content in a powerful, unforgettable theatrical experience.