In 2010, the Blockbuster movie rental chain announced its bankruptcy worldwide. Like a domino effect, over the following years, more than 300 stores around the world closed one by one. In 2014, the last store that remained operational in Chile closed its doors. Extinction, the second part of the Company’s Trilogy of Permanence, places us in one of those stores –yes, named Blockbuster– on December 31, 1999. That day, let us remember, the world was ending.
“Extinction” is set up as a montage that takes cinema to a theatrical language through multiple references, in an interesting interpellation to the spectator and her ability to remember and relate films and series, old and new. Between the shelves that display the covers of the VHS tapes, the workers of the establishment move, preparing to serve the public that will arrive on the last day of the year (and of the world) to rent films.
The choice of store is not at all casual. The text, by Eduardo Fuenzalida and Nicolás González, coherently mixes the end of the world, the closing of the chain and the extinction of the dinosaurs. It is the figure of this prehistoric animal that unites the present, the past and the future. The work also presents us with a satire of the world of work: a group of very special employees under the command of an abusive boss who must deal with the fear of the end of the world and the collapse of the business.
However, the real tragedy occurs in the store’s bathroom. Fernando, one of the workers, commits suicide on that last day of the year, which creates a loop in which December 31st is repeated over and over again. It’s Groundhog Day. Those nostalgic for the “Back to the Future” trilogy find here an unavoidable nod when they face, in the store’s aisles, Fernando as a child, a young man and an adult.
Although set in 1999, the costumes, music and characterisation – with wigs by Carla Casali – are more 1980s-style, a choice that emphasises the idea that the world described is a response to an increasingly distant past. It also enriches the characters and the staging.
“Extinción” was one of the surprises on last year’s billboard, thanks to a solid script and the outstanding performances of the cast. In addition, it addresses topics such as loneliness, depression and fear, in a profound but comedic way. A challenge that they achieve without any surprises – and with a lot of laughter – in its 75 minutes of duration.
The work of the Compañía Implicancia will have a new season at the Teatro Nacional Chileno on July 11, 12 and 13, within the framework of the youth theater cycle “Germinar”.
Artistic record
Director: Eduardo Fuenzalida
Dramaturgy: Eduardo Fuenzalida, Nicolás González
Cast: Matias Leon, Javiera Alvear, Malva Sanchez, Jose Augustin Espinosa, Yashira Zomosa, Fernando Reyes, Enrique Fuenzalida
Sound design: Benjamín Celedón
Lighting design: Fer Castex
Comprehensive design: Valentina Bruna, Moises Briceño
Co-production: Francisca Torres and Malva Sánchez
Graphics: Wrong
Photography: Shofrita
Collaborate: Theatrical Dojo – Balmaceda Arte Joven
Duration: 75 minutes
Over 12 years
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