The theatre is located in the back streets just behind Bravo Murillo close to Valdeacederas/Plaza Castilla. Walking there feels like going into the middle of no where as this part of Madrid is quiet and residential, with not much life in its streets. Suddenly, upon turning into the street Francisca Conde, suddenly there is an overflow of people coming out of the theatre.
The theatre itself is charming. It is very small, the lobby is covered but the garage door hoisted up makes it exposed to the street. There is a small bar, and a small ticket office. The lobby is decorated with quirky antiques, paintings and antiques, giving it a Gothic feel to the place. Even the bathroom is decorated as if they had called in Tim Burton as the internal designer. The theatre performance hall itself is hidden behind a door covered by a heavy velvet curtain. It is a nice size, not too small or big, comfy velvet lined seats and also consistent with the theatrical Gothic decoration with its grand chandelier and it's own Raven perched on one of the shelves. I caught myself wondering many times if the theatre had been decorated for the show especially, but the details were so meticulous, that is seemed unrealistic to assume such a tiny theatre would put an effort into the decoration for one show.
The show opened with the room blackening out and having Lou Reed blasted into the room, however it was unfortunate that the sound system left a lot to be desired, however this was a small theatre and an amateur production so I tried to lower my expectations. The mood became eerier as the players entered and creating an asylum on stage. This first act was creatively done. The gruesome characters of insane asylum recited their individual stories from the poetry and tales of Edgar Allen Poe, including The Tell-Tale Heart and Berenice. This was a very effective way to tell the short stories and poetry of Poe. It was eerie, sinister and atmospheric, an effective way of using Poe's work. The acting was very good and I forgot this was an amateur production.
The part of the second act which stood out was when there were two tramps telling the two stories simultaneously of The Black Cat and Never Bet the Devil Your Head. Again some very effective staging to use Poe's work.
After the interval the show continued with a recital of Poe's A Predicament. You see a headless woman to one side and the head sitting on a table narrating the story, one of Poe's short story which was about a woman who loses her head after putting it through the aperture of a giant clock in a church tower. Very funny and gruesome and well done. This was then followed by The Fall of the House of Usher which was the highlight of the whole production. The actor playing Roderick Usher was superb and perfect for the role. The scene was done traditionally and gave a real creepy atmosphere to the production. The play was then concluded with a recital of The Raven one of Poe's most famous works. All in all a wonderfully delightful play full of atmosphere, music and even humour. I was very impressed both by the Madrid Players and the Teatro Liberarte. I shall definitely be going to both again in the future that is certain.
Poe is running in the Teatro Liberarte, C/Francisca Conde 7, Metro:Valdecederas (L1), Ventilla (L9).
Dates: 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th October, 21:00 Weekdays and Saturday, 20:00 Sundays.
Price: 12euros on the door or 8euros if you book in advance via http://www.atrapalo.com.
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