Review: A Surreal Saturday

Article by Sylvia Lim

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For those of you familiar with Miro’s ethereal works, seeing them staged is something else - Imagine the naïve childlike emblematic forms jumping off the canvas and coming to life!

Strongly influenced by the Fauvists and Cubists, Spanish painter Joan Miro (1893-1983) is one of the most authentic surrealists of the 20th century. Drawing on memory and dreams, his playful art is characterized by brilliant palette and simplified forms.

The show began with a parade that started in the River Landscape outside of Tate Modern and proceeded into the Turbine Hall. It was a depiction of Miro’s desire to make Merma Never Dies into a street parade in the Catalonian tradition.

The puppet parade of was the first re-make in over 25 years. The puppets in this performance were originally designed for the theatre piece Mori el Merma, which was first performed in 1978. The production was a collaboration between the artist Miro and La Claca, an experimental theatre troupe from Barcelona, headed by Joan Baixas.

Mori el Merma roughly translated means - “Death to the Bogeyman”, the “bogeyman” anti-hero is based on the French writer Alfred Jarry’s character ‘Pere Ibu’, from his absurdist play Ubu Roi (1896) that made a grotesque parody of authority and the abuses of power. In this new production, Merma Never Dies, Baixas evokes the critical spirit of Mori el Merma.

There was screening of footages of the original performance and Miro at work in his studio running throughout the day at the Starr Auditorium. For those unacquainted with Miro, watching the 30-minute documentary before the parade would be help one to understand the amount of work involved and the sheer grandeur of the project.

It was an amazing collaboration between art and theatre. And a real Bank Holiday treat.