Last Saturday night, selected Picturehouse cinemas offered Almodovar fans the opportunity to watch the acclaimed director in an exclusive Q&A, live via satellite, before enjoying on the big screen 1988 Spanish comedy classic Women on the Verge of A Nervous Breakdown. Tickets for the West End stage adaptation are currently on sale, but knowing the whole event was a shameless plug didn’t mar my enjoyment.
The stylised black-comedy farce follows the intertwined antics of Pepa – hot-blooded heart-broken voice-over actress, Candela – her suicidal model friend who has inadvertently become wrapped up in a terrorist plot, Marisa – the moody girlfriend of Pepa’s ex-lover’s son, and Lucia – the ex-lover’s ex-wife recently released from an epic asylum stint. Add flavours of Madrid, giant telephones, tower block residing chickens and a striking period wardrobe.
In the Q&A, Almodovar expresses his distaste for certain male behaviours and his admiration for the strength of character found in the women of Madrid who lived through the repression under Franco. Certainly, Women on the Verge is a celebration of female self-empowerment. We find ourselves rooting for the heroines and despairing of their male correlatives as stereotypes are sensationalised through plot. The characters are emotionally driven, often to the point of complete irrationality, but we love them all the more for it. And in the end, Pepa, our heroine, finds a place of control, dignity and acceptance, reminding us all that self-respect is the answer. Possibly, to everything life throws at us.
Unfortunately, judging by the cheesy and outdated taster song at the start of the Q&A, I don’t hold out much hope for the success of the musical. A dewey-eyed Tamsin Greig was able to derail the sycophancy of the interviewer, but her big personality may not be enough to carry a production that looks like it’s set in the 80’s but was made in the 90’s.
Words and illustration by Rachel James