Orgasmos at Teatro Arlequin in Madrid
Based on the title, one might expect that Orgasmos (Orgasms), which enjoyed a recent one-night stand – how appropriate! – at Madrid’s Teatro Arlequin Gran Via, was devised to lure in sad old men in greasy raincoats and Japanese tourists, rather like O Calcutta of blessed memory.
In fact, Orgasmos is a fairly middle-of-the road and wafer-thin two-hander comedy about the eternal battle of the sexes that blurs the line between stand up comedy and theatre. I was reminded of Rob Becker’s much better take on the same idea, Defending the Caveman, which enjoyed a modest success in New York in the late 90s.
Orgasmos is of a similar vintage. Written by American playwright Dan Israely, it premiered in 2003 to unanimous mehs from the mainstream critics. Of course, these are people who wouldn’t be caught dead admitting that they found anything risible in this sort of low-brow fare, but apparently Orgasmos has its virtues. How else to explain that it has enjoyed a long, if sporadic, run in various languages and on various continents sever since?
The Spanish version, under the direction of Oscar Contreras has, according to the poster, been running for seven years and has played to over 400,000 people. And would anyone in show business ever exaggerate their success?
After a brief period of bantering with the audience, the stars, Patricia López and Joan Pico get down to business. Joan, by the way, is the Catalan form of Juan or John. No gender bending here!
Orgasmos begins in the Garden of Eden, where Adam roams about sporting an absurd erection made from one of those long thin balloons that children’s entertainers use to create balloon animals. It would seem he’s lonely.
But God’s well-intentioned gift of a companion only seems to complicate things. From there, Orgasmos works its diligent way through every cliche you have ever heard (or perhaps experienced) about the many and wondrous ways that men and women differ and drive each other crazy, right down to and including the defining issue of the gender wars that gives the piece its title.
Yes it’s easy to dismiss Orgasmos as puerile fluff, but just as being paranoid doesn’t mean people aren’t out to get you, because a joke is a cliche doesn’t mean it doesn’t contain a germ of truth.
The almost full audience with which I saw Orgasmos seemed to enjoy itself immensely and this might very well be the perfect date-night show when you’d just as soon not see some Greek guy gouge his eyes out or have Shakespeare litter the stage with corpses.
At this point I have to confess that, while I am making a manly attempt to master the language of Cervantes, my aural comprehension of the spoken word leaves something to be desired, especially in the face of the firehose delivery of these two gifted comedians.
It hardly seemed to matter though. The material is so filled with stereotypical situations that facial expressions and body language were more than enough to convey precisely what was happening in each scene.
Indeed the best reason to see Orgasmos – if you ever get the chance – is the performance of Joan Pico who has grown a raffish beard and a halo of unruly hair since the photo on the poster that illustrates this review. He has the wonderful ability to transform from a darkly handsome hipster to a complete goofball.
Pico is blessed with a dancer’s body and seemingly endless energy. His sexual shenanigans in the play’s few raunchy moments are truly hysterical and his depiction of a waiter driven to distraction by an insanely picky diner is a comic gem.
As an inveterate theatergoer, I was also fascinated by the Teatro Arlequin Gran Via itself. The tiny street level entrance led me to believe it would lead to the kind of subterranean dump I remember so fondly from the New York theater scene of the 70s.
Instead, I found a comfortable 350-seat house that even has a small balcony area. Teatro Arlequin specializes in hosting one night runs of shows that run no more than 90 minutes or, at most, two hours. On some nights there are two different shows. There is a mix of dramas, comedy, monologues, and magic shows. Orgasmos will play again on December 9 and 12, 2024. Visit the Teatro Arlequin website to see what might be on offer when you are next in Madrid.
And keep an eye on Joan Pico. Given the right breaks and the right vehicle, this guy could go places.
[image: Teatro Arlequin]
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