"The Comedy of the Pot," directed by José Luis Iborra and adapted by Antonio Prieto, revolves around this character, a widower obsessed with protecting his pot of gold, whose greed dictates his decisions. Euclion decides to marry the young Pompina, who is his own son’s great love. From there, a comedy of misunderstandings, "hilarious situations" and secret romances begins—a work Plautus wrote 2,300 years ago that remains fully relevant today.
Carlos Sobera this Friday at Teatro Principal. Photo: Pilar Álvarez
Almost turned into a musical, with five musical numbers, the play is one of those classics that requires a large cast to work. Ángel Pardo, Jesús Cabrero, Juanjo Cucalón, Silvia Vacas, David Tortosa, Arianna Aragón and Antonio Prieto, together with Sobera himself, make up the company that premiered the play at the Teatro de Mérida, where it drew 16,000 spectators.
"It is an enormous pleasure to be at Teatro Principal because it is one of Spain’s great theaters, one of the best in the country. Zaragoza has an extraordinary audience that knows theater very well. Those of us in the profession always say that when you want to test whether a text can be turned into a stage play, Zaragoza is the place you have to visit," the presenter and actor acknowledged.
With a breaking of the fourth wall and contact with the audience that is "not invasive at all and very well handled," greed, selfishness and an obsession with wealth form the basis of a play in which the comedic gags have been adapted, but not the core elements of Plautus’ text. "It is a fusion involving a journey both ways, in which the play travels from second-century B.C. Rome to the 17th century of Molière. We have taken the best of what the latter did and brought it back to Rome, adapting it to the rhythm and vertigo of humor," explained Antonio Prieto, who adapted the work.
SCHEDULE AND TICKETS
Performances of "The Comedy of the Pot" begin this Friday at 8:00 p.m. On Saturday, shows will take place at 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., and on Sunday, November 1, at 7:00 p.m. Tickets cost an average of 30 euros.
