Lola Arias at the Maxim Gorki Theatre in Berlin: A Thousand Days of Freedom

Argentine director Lola Arias works with former prisoners in Gorky. <로스 디아스 아푸에라>which is directed by Adriana Lima. The project is a follow-up to her most recent film, Reas.

In Lola Arias’ production, the actors provide insight into their marginalized lives as queer ex-convicts. Photo: Eugenia Kays

Dressed in festive costumes and long black evening dresses, Yoseli, Paulita, Carla, Estefanía, Noelia and Nacho give brief information about their biographies in the prologue of “Los días afuera / The Days Out There”. It is not a given that six actors from Argentina will be on stage at the Gorki Theater in Berlin this evening.

They have been incarcerated for long periods on drug trafficking, robbery and fraud charges. But now they can be free for 930, 1,019, 1,172 or 1,585 days. In Lola Arias’s documentary-musical production, the actors provide a distant insight into the lives of those who are marginalized, both inside and out.

They previously starred in Aria’s film Leas, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2024. The musical was created through workshops and interviews with cis and trans people incarcerated in various women’s prisons in Argentina. Filming took place in the ruins of the Ezeiza prison, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.

The participants soon felt the desire to continue the project on stage and in March the theater rehearsals began in Buenos Aires with Yoseli Arias, Paulita Asturayme, Carla Canteros, Estefanía Hardcastle, Noelia Pérez and Ignacio (Nacho) Rodríguez. Los Dias Apueras premiered in Argentina last May and has since been touring Europe.

In an interview with a Spanish daily, El Pais The theatre producer described the project as the most challenging of his career so far, “because not only do I have to create a piece and move the audience, but I also feel a responsibility for these people’s lives. Of course, I’m not in charge of everything, but I have a responsibility to make sure that what happens to them through the play has a positive impact on their lives.”

When Nacho, who was replaced by transgender Natal Delfino in Gorki due to illness, reports on stage about the water tanks he can finally afford, or when transgender Noelia raves about her new celebrity in a Buenos Aires ballroom, they also note not only how working on the play has changed their life circumstances, but also how fragile this new existence seems.

Minority rights are being abolished again

The current political situation in Argentina is making things even more difficult. Since the inauguration of the right-wing populist President Javier Millei in December 2023, hard-won minority rights have been abolished, social systems have been dismantled, and culture has been under attack.

Thus, the post-incarceration experiences reflected in the actors’ generous reporting provide a picture of the current state of the margins of Latin American society: stigmatization, police arbitrariness, exploitation, abuse and dependency.

In the spring, Arias was surprised to learn that she would be the second woman and first Latin American to receive the International Ibsen Prize, awarded by the Norwegian government for her play in 2024. In October, Arias will receive the prestigious award at the National Theatre in Oslo.

On Saturday evening at the Gorky Theatre, ‘Los días afuera’ deeply moved the Berlin audience. The passionate singing and voguing naturally gave them applause, and the ensemble, which looked visibly tired, responded with a standing ovation in the hall after the performance.