The comedian from Lanzarote Kike Pérez is set to face his first theatrical and musical experience with the show Negras which will be showcased across over twenty venues in Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Gomera and Fuerteventura, alongside his new monologue I Feel Eighty, until November. This marks the first year that the comedian from Lanzarote presents two shows together, delving into “worlds” he is not accustomed to.
This was stated by the performer during a presentation where he was accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Culture and Cultural Heritage of the Government of Canarias, Horacio Umpérrez, and the actress and singer Wendy Cruz. Negras is “a musical piece on racism, feminism, and other social issues, using African-American music but addressing the same problems of the Canary Islands from a different perspective.” In the show, Pérez acts more as a producer, giving the spotlight to Wendy Cruz, who is “the voice” of a proposal that is “a musical narrative that, without delving into drama” addresses the reality of the Afro-American community through various decades with iconic songs from different eras.
Experiment
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From his perspective, this is an experiment that has never been attempted before, involving exploring social issues from a different angle, through five different stage settings inspired by the American city of Baltimore. The production, based on a script and directed by Tavi García, also features actors David Harada, Saúl Romero, and Pérez himself. It is “a loop where the characters find themselves in different historical moments” with music as the common thread. “Shows have been done before on immigration like those of Una Hora Menos, but it has never been tried to transpose it to another country,” he clarified. On stage, there is a dressing room that changes over each decade, with “each having a different song”, and people who might think Beyoncé “is a more current singer will be surprised,” he added mockingly. His idea is for the production to also be staged at an educational level in schools.
On her part, Wendy Cruz explained that it is “an enjoyable show” that has made her “evolve.” The actress, who sings live, brings together a plot that focuses on “all the issues and their evolution regarding the black race from the 60s to the present day”, with “specific turning points and a musical selection that is a fantasy” spanning blues, jazz, R&B, hip-hop, Afro music, or pop through the voices of Aretha Franklin “with whom I feel most comfortable,” she assured, Gloria Gaynor, Nina Simone, Amy Winehouse, or Beyoncé, among others.
Regarding I Feel Eighty, it is Pérez’s typical monologue, but where he takes a 180-degree turn. “The audience always demands a different product from me,” he clarified, “but still wants it to be me,” making it “complex” to “surprise the viewer while still maintaining the essence,” but it is a challenge he faces with enthusiasm to “bring another perspective” to how we view “a tense and polarised world, where some of us continue to seek laughter.” Reflecting philosophically, he adds that “it is a way to capture the feelings of a ‘chinijo’ born in the 80s who has nearly as much behind him as planned ahead. I am a seeker of good moments, a professional comedian in continuous growth,” added the also Physical Education teacher who last year surpassed a thousand performances in his successful 18-year professional career on stage. The comedian acknowledged that “I have increasingly professionalised my tours thanks to the coverage by the company Servicios Artísticos Insulares.”
Thus, Kike Pérez will showcase both shows at the stages of Teatro Leal in La Laguna, Teatro Guimerá in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Teatro Guiniguada in the capital of Gran Canaria, Auditorio Infanta Leonor in Arona, Auditorio de Adeje, Teatro Teobaldo Power in La Orotova, Teatro Salineros in Lanzarote, Auditorio Infanta Cristina in San Sebastián de la Gomera, Espacio La Granja in Tenerife, Auditorio de Agüimes, Teror, and the theatres Federico García Lorca and Juan Ramón Jiménez in Gran Canaria.
