What does it take for a town to rot from the inside out? Comala Comala, an immersive experimental production by Conchi León with music and lyrics by Pablo Chemor, is a reflection of bad men’s bad actions , and the community that enabled them. Borrowing from Juan Rulfo’s novel Pedro Paramo, Comala Comala utilises its multi-talented cast to resurrect a long-dead town, Comala, for our main character Juan Preciado. Preciado, played by Stephano Morales, comes to Comala seeking to understand his mother’s deathbed confession about his father, Pedro Paramo. The next hour is a rhythmic character study of a community whose commitment to tradition ultimately leads to its demise.
The show, which is on at Zoo Southside, is fashioned after a seance, and expertly flickers between Juan Preciado’s reality, and the bygone life of his deceased parents. Light and language are used expertly to distinguish between past and present, life and death.
Music drives the production forward, and touches every aspect of Comala Comala; even the seance tables are fashioned from overlarge drums. Each cast member plays a multitude of instruments throughout, further adding to the collaborative, fluid feel of the production.
The cast works seamlessly with one another as they each take on multiple roles; the audience, too, is forced to reconcile with family and lineage as Juan Preciado flickers out and Pedro Paramo, his father, comes to life. María Penella Gómez, who plays Preciado’s mother Dolores among other roles, commands the attention of her audience.
The show is almost entirely in Spanish, with English surtitling on a screen behind the actors. The surtitles help not only translate the show’s dialogue from Spanish to English, but also remind its audience where we are in our protagonist’s journey.
Comala Comala presents its audience a nonlinear theatre experience. It would be fruitless to attempt to catch every word, character change, or blocking decision in order to understand the show completely. Instead, let the show wash over you, fully losing yourself in the folklore.
Comala Comala is truly unlike anything else at the fringe this year.
Veteran tip: when you are offered mezcal during the performance, it is not faux audience participation. They will pour free mezcal into your empty Diet Coke can.
Comala Comala is on at Zoo Southside at 17:15 through the 25 August
Buy your ticket here
All photos provided by the show. Image credits: PAULINA CHAVEZ — AI ARTWORK – AMIR FATTAL