PLAY: Sub Titles Over (Followed by a Q&A)

Play in Catalan, with English subtitles.

The play will be followed by a Q&A in English and Spanish.

Age: Suitable for 12+

Running Time: 50 mins, no interval. Followed by a Q&A

Company: Mad, Who?

Facebook: facebook.com/mad.who.theatre

Instagram: @mad.who.theatre

Authour: Marina Cusí Sànchez

Director: Megan Farquhar

Actress: Marina Cusí Sànchez

Technical team: Shannon Houghton

Synopsis: A multilingual one-woman show exploring democracy, state censorship, and the manipulative power of translation. Set against the backdrop of the Catalan referendum for independence on the 1st of October 2017, the performance unfolds through the eyes of two young anti-fascist activists defending a polling station. As they await the arrival of Spanish police - who have been dispatched to shut down the referendum deemed ‘illegal’ by the Spanish government - tensions rise, and the narrative explores the real-time impact of state censorship and narrative control through subtitles.

First of October 2017. Three am. A knock on the door. Everyone is holding their breath inside their sleeping bag, crammed in this boiling hot polling station.

Just hours away from the referendum for Catalan independence, deemed illegal by the Spanish government, two young anti-fascist activists hold hands in the dark, waiting for the Spanish police to arrive at any minute…

‘ - ¡Vamos a quemar esto con todos vosotros dentro!’

Did you hear that? Just a friendly cop nudging them to wake up...

Mad, Who? is an emerging, multicultural theatre company that creates multilingual, captioned work focusing on human rights issues explored through a feminist lens. The company, created by Catalan multidisciplinary artist Marina Cusí in 2022 with the support of the University of Essex’s Innovation Centre and start-ups team, premiered its first show, ‘The ‘’S’’ Is Silent’ in April 2023 at The Pleasance Theatre in London, and won the FesTeLoFF 2022 Audience Award for said production at FesTeLõn Festival’s 10th edition. Mad, Who? was an OFFIES Awards 2024 finalist on their Best Online Production Category for the livestream of ‘The ‘’S’’ Is Silent’ at The Space Theatre, and an OffFest Award finalist at the OFFIES 2025.

Marina Cusí Sànchez: Marina Cusí is a Catalan-born, UK-based, award-winning multidisciplinary artist and theatre-maker, founder and current Artistic Director of Mad, Who? Theatre Company.

After graduating from the Col.legi del Teatre de Barcelona drama school in 2017, Cusí worked as an actor and dancer both nationally and internationally, and co-founded the Lens Dans videodance festival, which took place between the cities of Brussels and Barcelona.

Cusí moved to the UK to pursue a career in the arts, graduating in Drama and Literature from the University of Essex in 2022 and producing work that would tour the London Off-West-End and regional theatres in the East of England.

In addition to her acting and playwriting credits, she has worked as the Intimacy Coordinator of projects such as OFFIES finalist show ‘Two Come Home’ (The Cockpit, 2025), as a Movement Director for ‘A Two Woman Hamlet’ (Camden Fringe, 2025), and as a Producer for Semi-Automatic SmokeShow (Edinburgh Fringe 2025).

Cusí is also a known advocate for women’s rights, having created art installations such as ‘Re-writing HerStory’, ‘The Catcallers’ Wall of Shame’, and the ‘Flag Up Your Rights'exhibition.

She currently works as a Gallery Assistant at Art Exchange, as a Community Manager and FesTeLOFF Coordinator at the Festival of Spanish Theatre in London, and facilitates workshops and lecturers as a freelance artist in various institutions and organisations around the East of England.

Important: FesTeLõn is an organisation that relies exclusively on ticket sales and your generous donations. Therefore, if you are able to pay the full price for your ticket (instead of purchasing one of our concession tickets or discount packages), it would be sincerely appreciated.

If you would like to support FesTeLõn further by making a donation, please sign up to our BeFesTeLõn programme on our website: https://www.festivalspanishtheatre.co.uk/be-a-friend-2/?mc_cid=18d633e040&mc_eid=e8dc4b888a

Your generosity would be most appreciated.

~

Sinopsís: Un solo show que explora el poder de los subtítulos y su potencial oculto para el control y la manipulación dentro de comunidades monolingües.

1 de octubre de 2017. Tres de la madrugada. Llaman a la puerta. Dentro, todos contienen la respiración en sus sacos de dormir, hacinados en este sofocante colegio electoral.

Faltan solo unas horas para el referéndum de independencia de Cataluña, declarado ilegal por el Gobierno español. Dos jóvenes activistas antifascistas se cogen de la mano en la oscuridad, esperando que la policía española pueda entrar en cualquier momento…

— «¡Vamos a quemar esto con todos vosotros dentro!»

¿Lo oíste? Solo un agente amable, dándoles un golpecito para que se despierten…

Mad, Who? es una joven compañía de teatro multicultural que apuesta por crear obras multilingües y con subtítulos, centradas en los derechos humanos y siempre desde una mirada feminista. Fundada en 2022 por la artista catalana Marina Cusí, con el apoyo del Innovation Centre y el equipo de emprendimiento de la Universidad de Essex, la compañía estrenó su primer espectáculo, The “S” Is Silent, en abril de 2023 en el Pleasance Theatre de Londres. Con esta obra obtuvo el Premio del Público FesTeLoFF 2022 en la décima edición del Festival FesTeLõn.

En 2024, Mad, Who? fue finalista de los Premios OFFIES en la categoría de Mejor Producción Online gracias a la retransmisión en directo de The “S” Is Silent en el Space Theatre, y en 2025 volvió a ser reconocida como finalista en los Premios OffFest de los OFFIES.

Importante: FesTeLõn es una organización que depende exclusivamente de la venta de entradas y de sus donaciones generosas. Por eso, si usted puede pagar el precio sin descuento, lo agradeceriamos sinceramente.

Asimismo agradeceríamos, si le es posible, que contribuyera al mantenimiento de este Festival a través de nuestro programa BeFesTeLõn. Suscríbete en nuestra página web: https://www.festivalspanishtheatre.co.uk/be-a-friend-2/?mc_cid=18d633e040&mc_eid=e8dc4b888a

Su generosidad sería sinceramente apreciada.