Lapland (Marc Angelet and Cristina Clemente)

Lapland is a play about truth and lies, knowledge and illusion, home and exile, identity and loss, innocence and maturity.

The action takes place on Christmas Eve. Monica and Ramón, and their son, Pablo, have travelled from Spain to spend the holidays with Monica´s sister, Nuria, her Finnish husband, Olavi, and their daughter, Ana. They want to give Pablo the best Christmas possible, in the land of Santa Claus.

There is only one problem: Ana has just informed Pablo that Father Christmas doesn’t exist.

As the evening develops, the characters struggle to find a way through the clash of cultures, their shared histories, the lies they have told each other – and the lies they have told themselves.

Father Christmas

RAMÓN: Ana didn’t just tell him Father Christmas doesn’t exist; she also gave him evidence. The number of children in the world, the time it would take him to visit each house… She proved it was scientifically impossible for him to reach everyone. And she told him that the man who was going to bring the presents tonight wasn’t Father Christmas but her neighbour Toivo in disguise.

MONICA: Christ, what a brat!

RAMÓN: Basically, we’re screwed.

MONICA: We’ve got to find a way to save it!

OLAVI: But what is it that you want to save?

MONICA: My son’s childhood!

OLAVI: Do you really think it’s so important?

MONICA: JESUS FUCKING CHRIST! I HAD KIDS SO THAT I COULD CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS, FOR FUCK’S SAKE!

OLAVI: See how you shout when it’s not necessary?

MONICA: It certainly is bloody necessary, Olavi! Pablo is only five! There was no need for him to find out yet. I want him to carry on feeling that tingle of excitement I used to get on Christmas Day, a feeling I hadn’t had again until he was born! I want him to believe there’s a little bit of magic in this world of ours. Yes: magic. That just because you can’t see something, can’t touch it…

Lapland was originally written in Catalan by Marc Angelet and Cristina Clemente. The translation was based on the authors’ own Spanish version of the text. It is promoted by Hause & Richman.