In EL OTRO, the Chilean company Teatro Niño Proletario addresses the theme of emotional survival in our time. We witness the uncertain encounter with the other. The other with imperfections, the other as seen through the lens of love, the other who is none other than ourselves.

    El Otro is a collection of vignettes incarnated by flawed bodies. An outpouring of grunts, monosyllabic utterances, simple and clumsy gestures sweep us away and plunge us into the uncertainty of our future.

    In an undefined space - maybe a psychiatric hospital - seven individuals dedicate their body and soul to the quest of love. Astral apparitions for the dreamer, or psychiatric cases for the production-driven society, they reveal themselves, confide in each other and wholeheartedly commit to the exchange, despite the distortions of social relations and the anguish of a precarious destiny.

    As we go beyond the unease of our educated standpoint, we wish to inhabit the space like them and to feel for a moment the joy of experiencing this crazy, bewildering, unique and fleeting love, which seems possible only in insanity and destitution.

    Inspired by the book “El infarto del alma” (Soul’s Infarct) (Paz Errázuriz photography - Diamela Eltit text), El Otro was created in Chile in 2012. Initially conceived in situ in a decommissioned factory, the play was then staged in an unoccupied prison in Punta Arenas, in a disused corn shed and in conventional theatres. Since then, the play has continued to tour in Chile and has also been performed in Spain (Fiera Tarrega 2015) as well as in the Netherlands and Belgium as part of the Get lost programme (2015) directed by Frie Leysen.

    Alongside the performances, the company presents an exhibition, created for the occasion, showcasing pictures taken by Paz Errázuriz during the rehearsals.