Success of the group “Arrojo Scenico” at the University Theater Festival

David Viera

On November 27, the University Theater Festival (FESTEU) 2023 took place at the Small Theater on Gran Vía, where theater groups from different universities in Madrid participated, such as the Rey Juan Carlos University, the Complutense University, the Polytechnic University and the Carlos III University. “This event was born with the intention of the sad situation of loss of the custom of university theater, so this festival serves to keep this tradition alive,” explains Víctor Mendoza, Theater coordinator at the URJC.

Within this department we find the group “Arrojo Scenico”, which was in charge of performing 'All About Oedipus' at FESTEU. This work covers the figure of the Greek king, adapting his character and story to the current situation in Spain, including comic references about it. “We have been working on the play since October of last year, having already performed it in Fuenlabrada and Pamplona,” comments the coordinator, explaining the difficulty of being able to form a constant work group in the face of the various casualties suffered within the cast of the play.

“Being one of the 4 universities participating in this festival is a great honor, and even more so if it is for the sake of keeping the tradition of university theater alive,” declares the coordinator, who claims to be “more than satisfied” with the performance performed by the performers and with the treatment received by the organization and management of the theater, highlighting the lighting as one of the theater's strong points. “The capacity was full and there were a large number of students who stayed on the waiting list, so it was a resounding success,” adds Mendoza.

“I consider this performance as the first achievement obtained after the pandemic, which affected us just when we were going to perform at the Josep Carreras Theater in Fuenlabrada,” explains Mendoza, who aspires to recover the level reached in the past, remembering when in In 2012 they performed a performance of the play “We want to be the Seseman” and received an excellent opinion from renowned critics such as Javier Vallejo, from El País.