The Workshop

Dead white mice. Something strange happens in a house where the plague seems less wild than laboratory. Nona Fernández debuted in playwriting in 2012 with a work inspired by the literary workshops that Mariana Callejas did at her home in Lo Curro in the 70s.

The third floor of the mansion frequently hosted literary gatherings and long parties where guests danced to the rhythm of Abba, Janis Joplin or Barry White. Who died in August 2016, at the age of 84, Callejas led a series of workshops there attended by writers who - later - would be part of the so-called New Chilean Narrative, such as Gonzalo Contreras, Carlos Franz and Carlos Iturra. On the first floor, meanwhile, Townley had his own refuge. Precisely there, the Spanish diplomat Carmelo Soria was tortured and murdered and Eugenio Berríos set up his secret laboratory to experiment with sarin gas.

Disco music, aspiring writers, Rasputin, premonitions, crimes and mystery mix in this black comedy directed by Marcelo Leonart. A work that from the grotesque portrays the double life of the writer and DINA agent, the widespread blindness and the violence of the dictatorship.

Premiered on May 26, 2012, at Sala Lastarria 90, El Taller has had a long life on the Chilean theater billboard, presenting itself as a classic of the genre. It already has seven seasons in various venues in Santiago (GAM, Lastarria 90, Teatro UC, La Memoria), in regions and festivals across the country, including the Taba Festival in Buenos Aires. The work was the winner of the Altazor and José Nuez Martín awards for best playwriting, based on the book of the same name published by Editorial Oxímoron.

Company The Dark Piece | Director Marcelo Leonart | Dramaturgy Nona Fernández | Cast: Carmina Riego, Francisca Márquez, Nancy Gómez, Francisco Medina, Juan Pablo Fuentes and Nona Fernández | Design Nicolás Jofré | Producer Francisco Medina