The vagina monologues, Eve Ensler’s American feminist work has returned to Madrid and, more specifically, to the Nuevo Teatro Alcalá.

These monologues in a comedic tone are a journey that takes place in a cabaret, with real stories, sometimes grotesque and some close to drama in the form of a complaint, which revolve around women and their sexuality, social taboos, repression and sexual ignorance.

Albanta San Roman She is one of the three women who stars in the play and we chat with her about the monologues, feminism and other projects.

What will spectators who come to the Nuevo Teatro Alcalá find?

A hilarious show, but with a much-needed background. It is a cathartic function. What they repeat to us most when we leave the theater is: “Girls, you made me cry with laughter, but also with emotion.”

What makes this work special and different?

It’s a version like no other. It perfectly combines humor, freshness, truth and passion. I think it is impossible for the viewer to remain indifferent after seeing it.

Released in 1996, in 2001 it was chosen in the United States to champion the fight against abuse of women. 20 years have passed and the work does not lose temporality, why?

It’s something we talk about a lot, the brutal relevance of the text 25 years later. Perhaps because there is still a long way to go in the struggle of women, because the world continues to be a hostile place for us and the vagina, a taboo. But what is undoubtable is that even if it is taking slow steps, this fight is unstoppable.

The play has been translated into more than 45 languages ​​and has been performed on stage in more than 120 countries. Some actresses who have represented her are Kate Winslet, Jane Fonda… What does it mean to you to have taken her baton and now be part of the play?

It’s very exciting. The vagina monologues It is a very important work for the feminist movement and to be able to do my part in this version, and represent it in my city, is a dream come true.

How does Albanta get to the Nuevo Teatro Alcalá?

I studied and graduated in textual interpretation from RESAD. Actors and actresses do many tests and castings and in most of them we received a “no” for an answer. It is a very difficult world.

I remember that this was one of the first in-person tests I did after the pandemic. I left with very good feelings after doing the casting and meet Edu Pericas, the director of the play. Almost two months later I received a call from my representative saying that the role was mine.

How does an actress prepare to star? The vagina monologues?

From honesty and working hard. Luckily I have had the fortune of crossing paths in this process with Rocío Madrid and Olga Hueso, two wonderful and generous actresses who have helped me a lot.

I think that the three of us together make a magnificent team and give each other the strength and confidence necessary to do a great job every time we take to the stage.

What have you learned with this project?

Now we are releasing the second season, so last year we were already on the bill. We did more than 130 shows for more than 15,000 spectators, and I would tell you that you learn something from each show. Every little unforeseen event on stage makes you a better actress.

I have learned a lot as a professional with this work; But I also consider that as a person, seeing so many people come away from the show and share their experiences with us, has made me grow in a brutal way.

“I am a woman, it is my fight”

Without a doubt, the work is a very important representation within the feminism. And it is precisely about this that our conversation continues.

Albanta tells us that it is transversal to her life and the feminist perspective runs through everything she does as an artist. “Everything I am. I am a woman, it is my fight“.

And he continues: “A world that still considers us second-class citizens is not a just world. And I could not live in peace if I did not do everything in my power to change it.”

For her the fight is not over, in fact, she believes that we are still far from it and offers us some data. By statistics, “one in three women will be raped, abused or mistreated throughout his life. “One in three.”

“And it is not something from the past, nor is it necessary to go to the margins… It is something in the daily lives of all women. I go out into the street and face the street harassment every morning, I have afraid of going home alone at night and strangers have touched me without my consent. And like me, I would tell you that 90% of the women I know “she reports.

And she concludes: “Until these things stop, until public spaces are as much ours as theirs, feminism will continue fighting for self-defense against a sick world.”

Writer and content creator

Albanta San Roman She is not only an actress. She is also a content creator and writer. In 2019, she published the collection of poems A permanent spring (Zenith) and this 2022 he returned to the fray with Of shatters, heart (Zenith).

We asked him how this project came about and he explained that he has been sharing his writings and work on social networks for many years.

“One of these videos was found by what is still my editor, Eugenia Soria, from Zenith (Grupo Planeta). She really liked my work, we chatted, we had an immediate connection and she gave me the opportunity to publish.”

This had always been his dream, so he worked hard to reciprocate such an opportunity. “I always say that my books are like my children and the truth is that I am very proud of the work captured there.”

In addition, he has a podcast, Keep it crappy, which is one of the projects he enjoys the most. A fresh and casual format that she does with Ángela Henche, one of his best friends, and in which she has total freedom.

“We started almost not knowing what a podcast was and it’s incredible how much it has grown and the opportunities it has given us. Maybe it’s where I feel most ‘me’ in everything I do.. And that is thanks to the fact that we have created a community of listeners who share our humor, our irony and our way of seeing the world. We are already in the sixth season and I hope this continues to grow because I think it is a wonderful format,” he concludes.

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