The “Veranos del Taoro” festival in Puerto de la Cruz commenced with the opening of the play “The Infernal Comedy (Confessions of a Murderer),” featuring the renowned American actor John Malkovich. The festival, celebrating open-air theater and other performing arts, is now in its second edition and will run until Saturday. Malkovich dazzled the audience on Sunday at the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium in Gran Canaria, and yesterday he performed at the Jameos del Agua Auditorium in Lanzarote, both as extensions of the festival.
In this captivating performance, arriving in the tourist city today with tickets sold out, Malkovich masterfully embodies the character of Jack Unterweger, a serial killer who transformed into a writer and journalist while imprisoned. Unterweger’s chilling history includes the murder of an 18-year-old girl in Salzburg in 1974, leading to a life imprisonment sentence. In prison, he turned to writing as a means to retain his sanity, and his works, particularly his autobiography and poems, received surprising acclaim from German-speaking intellectuals.
The play is a gripping exploration of imprisonment and freedom, showcasing Unterweger’s complex journey. Committees were eventually established to advocate for a commutation of his sentence, and many Austrian intellectuals, including the 2004 Nobel laureate in literature, Elfriede Jelinek, signed petitions for his release. Released in 1990 under the pretense of rehabilitation, Unterweger tragically continued to commit murders, leading to his capture by the FBI in 1994, followed by deportation to Austria. Unable to bear his life sentence, he took his own life on the first day back in prison.
Accompanying Malkovich’s performance at the Laurel de Indias space, the festival’s largest venue with 600 seats, are other captivating plays, including “Miércoles que parecen jueves,” “Lorca en Nueva York,” “Clitemnestra,” and the grand finale, “Simplemente Perfecto XL” by Asier Etxeandia and Enrico Barbaro with their project Mastodonte.
Tickets for the various performances are available on the festival’s website, www.veranosdeltaoro.com. Moreover, the organizers have introduced season tickets for all Laurel de Indias space shows, offering discounts of over 15% on the total price.
FESTIVAL’S LOCATIONS IN PUERTO DE LA CRUZ
The festival’s second performance space, the Arboleda, designed as an open-air cabaret, presents shows with comic and musical themes where spectators can sit at tables with bar service. Among the upcoming performances are Abubukaka’s “Unplugged,” Jorge Bolaños’ “Ate-risa como puedas,” Las Niñas de Cádiz’s “Cabaré a la gaditana,” and Cristina Medina y los Gloria’s show on Saturday.
Additionally, UpArte will offer a free family circus piece titled “DESproVISTO” on Saturday, while the free access program includes dance performances, such as Carmen Fumero’s “Las Idas” on Saturday, Emiliana Battista’s “Etér-EO” on Friday, and Raquel Jara and Cristina Martín’s contemporary dance piece “Mur” on Thursday. Furthermore, on Friday, Laura Marrero’s “El Nido” will be performed by the citizens’ collective La Pandilla.
