Wednesday 8 th & Thursday 9 th 2005, 7.30pm
Menguada, La Hora: a Venezuelan play

7:30. Doors open at 7:00 pm.
Performance in Spanish

Free entrance
Booking necessary
Tel. 020 7388 5788
Bolívar Hall of the Embassy of Venezuela
54 Grafton Way, London W1T 5DL

Menguada, la Hora is the theatre adaptation by César Rojas of the story La Hora Menguada (1919) by don Rómulo Gallegos. In this tale about two sisters who age waiting for a lost son and nephew, Gallegos depicted a segment of life in Caracas in the first two decades of the Twentieth Century: a truly intricate picture as seen by the repressed, distorted and often humorous perspective of two women of the period. In the turmoil of their feelings, the dialogue between Amelia and Enriqueta shifts between past and present, reality and fiction. As their memories unravel, they disclose the mystery at the heart of their lives.

Amanda Gutiérrez and Carlota Sosa, two of Venezuela´s leading theatre, cinema and television actresses will bring to London the lost voices of Amelia and Enriqueta under the artistic direction of Daniel Uribe and executive production of Juan Carlos Rangel.

AMANDA GUTIERREZ (Amelia) studied in the Escuela de Arte Dramático de Madrid and went on to do special workshops with José Antonio Cabrujas and Enrique Porte. Her leading role in the television series La Dueña by José Ignacio Cabrujas turned Amanda into a household name in many countries of Latin America and Europe. She has since participated in more than 30 television series, and in the film Ifigenia. She has been awarded the main acting prizes in Venezuela, the Mara de Oro, Guaicaipuro de Oro, Guaquerí de Oro and Meridiano de Oro in several occasions.

CARLOTA SOSA (Enriqueta) studied in the Laboratorio Teatral of Ana Julia Rojas in Caracas, in workshops by José Ignacio Cabrujas and in the Actors' Studio. With ample experience in theatre, she has performed in Venezuelan and foreign productions such as Baño de Damas by Rodolfo Santana, Y las Mujeres tambien by Fausto Verdial and Los Monólogos de la Vagina by Eve Ensler. She often appears in television series. Carlota participated in the films El Escándalo by Carlos Oteiza and Señora Bolero by Marilda Vera. Among other prizes she has received the Municipal and Casa del Artista Prizes to the best cinema actress, the ANAC Prize, The Juana Sujo Prize to the best theatre actress, and the Mara de Oro for the best TV actress.

DANIEL URIBE is one of the most distinguished Venezuelan theatre directors of his generation. In 1996 he received the Marco Antonio Ettedgui Prize, awarded annually to the most promising figure in the performing arts. He has directed and produced Comala, El Ultimo Brunch, De Metal Laminado, Muerte en Venecia, Detrás de la Avenida, Julius Caesar, Caraqueñas, and La Hora Menguada. This last production won the ACCA prize in Miami for best direction and staging. The piece Fango Negro has been shown in Europe, USA and Latin America. Uribe is currently the president of the New Theatre Centre for Directors.

DON RÓMULO GALLEGOS (1884-1969) is Venezuela's best known novelist. His books depict the conflicts arising in the transition between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, from the contrast between urban and country life.

His colourful characters have become part of Latin America's literary repertoire: Doña Bárbara, the indomitable heroine and Marcos Vargas, who vanishes into the jungle. The novels in which they appear, Doña Bárbara and Canaima have both been filmed in Mexico.