Šventoji (La Santa)

Although he has visited Catalonia several times, and a few years after presenting L’Oncle Vània with a catalan cast at the Teatre Lliure, this is the first time director Oskaras Koršunovas presents a production with his company in the city of Barcelona.

What would be the story of Mary of Egypt, a woman from the 4th century AD, wandering through today’s urbanised “desert” in search of liberation? Is there less violence today in our civilised society? Is it more empathetic or tolerant? When we speak of human rights, women’s status and freedom, are we truly free from the ancient patriarchal legacy?

The story of Mary of Egypt, surrounded by rumours and mysticism, is the starting point for this work. A woman who, in 4th-century Alexandria, was forced to sell her own body and set out on the road to Jerusalem with a group of pilgrims. Today, we can see all women in Mary of Egypt: the mother, the daughter, the sister and the wife, each of whom must walk every day along the sharp edge that separates the saint from the sinner.