Teatro Glam&Roll‘s production of Cherry Sour (written & directed by Isabel Quiroz) opens at the Voila! Festival next month.
“Cherry Sour is once again left alone in a world that is constantly proving her how violent and dangerous it is to be on your own. She had no friends nor family until she met Johnny, the lead singer of the glam rock band “The Pink Flamingos”.
They were together for the wrong reasons, they had never experienced LOVE before, and their dreams were destroyed.
But now he’s gone. We’ll get to know the story of Cherry in the only place where she’s got a spotlight: a police interrogatory room, after pledging guilty for the death of the rockstar. Did she kill him? This is her only chance to tell her story out loud.”
Where: Etcetera Theatre
When: 18 Nov
Ticket link: https://www.voilafestival.co.uk/events/cherry-sour-and-the-tragedy-of-the-pink-flamingo/
Isabel tells us more about this adaptation/translation of the original Mexican production.
Tell me a bit about your show. Where did the idea come from?
This play is a translation and a one-woman show adaptation of the original Cherry Sour y la Tragedia del Pink Flamingo, that I also wrote back in 2019 in Mexico, where it was also produced in 2021, and which is an Honorific Mention of the National Award for Playwrights “Manuel Herrera 2019”.
The play follows the story of Cherry, a girl whose rockstar boyfriend, the lead singer of The Pink Flamingos, has died and she pledges guilty.
She’s a girl who’s always been invisible for the society, hiding from the world, alone, with no family or friends, surviving working as a waitress, until she meets Johnny Flamingo, whose main obsession is becoming a famous musician, and is willing to sell his life (and hers) to make it.
But the play is about her, her life and memories of loneliness, abandonment, and violence, and the reasons on why she “killed” Johnny Flamingo.
For the first (and only) time, she has the chance to speak up… in a police interrogatory room. In a world where the only thing that a woman has known is violence, with no one to rely on, going to jail or not, makes no difference.
The story came after being close to real life cases of domestic violence, and gender based-violence. They are the core of the play, and the background to create the character of Cherry, and her universe, shaping it through music, “glam-rock”, as I wanted to find a bit of “shine like glitter”, in her dark and poignant story.
The Pink Flamingos is a fictional glam-rock band that I created inspired by the 70’s glam movement, and a key piece of the plot. The music is also a character, and another element of storytelling in this show.
Why should audiences choose your show? How would you sell it in one sentence?
Cherry Sour is about surviving in a violent contemporary world, over and over. It is about a woman alone… how alone do you need to be to give up on your life?, but also, how alone do you need to be to take it back?
If you’re looking for a powerful show about a woman reclaiming her story after stepping out of her toxic relationship, leaving behind her violent past, come, and join us for a night full of glitter, and glam songs (soundtrack by the Pink Flamingos).
What does being part of the Voila! Festival mean to you?
The Voila! Festival represents an opportunity to bring Cherry Sour to a wider audience. On behalf of the team behind this show, I can say we’re excited to be part of an international festival, where we can share our work with creatives from different parts of the world, and I’m sure this is going to be an interesting cultural exchange.
Cherry Sour was written originally in Spanish, and it keeps a lot of that essence through songs, and slang. So being part of a festival that promotes cultural diversity, and a space for artists around the world, it’s a milestone for this show.
The team behind this show is in majority immigrant, a space like the Voila! is not only a dream but a need for artists like us.
As a director of Teatro Glam&Roll, a company that I started in Mexico in 2019, and that is based now in London, it represents a big step into connecting with creatives, and the industry, but most important to be seen, and gain exposure through our work.
Cherry Sour is a woman who longs to be heard, and this festival it’s a unique chance!
How did you make a start in the industry?
I studied a BA in drama in Mexico, and developed my career as a playwright, director, and producer. I’ve won a couple of awards as a playwright in my country.
While looking for bigger challenges and develop my voice as a creative, I moved to the UK four years ago to study an MA in theatre directing, and continuing my work as a playwright now in English.
Since then I’ve been part of several writers groups, like the Director’s Cut, Tower Theatre’s, and Latam in UK, in order to continue pursuing my career as a theatre maker.
I decided to create Teatro Glam&Roll in 2019 to explore my voice as a writer and director, and to face the challenges that come with producing independently.
That’s why when moving to London, Teatro Glam&Roll moved with me, looking to find new voices in a different language, and culture.
It is of my interest to tell stories about real people, voices of marginalised communities, and the struggles that come with defining your identity and living in the contemporary world, the injustices in it.
Teatro Glam&Roll is my safe space to create those stories and to collaborate with artists that share a similar interest through their unique voices and worldview.
What’s next for the show?
Cherry Sour will continue performing, will continue growing and hopefully reaching more people!
No immediate plans, but we’re aiming to go to more festivals, and of course to take our show to other venues outside London.
This production was possible with the support of my AD Rae Keefer, and Flinn McManus, who sang and recorded the songs of the Pink Flamingos for the show.