- The theatre play On tyranny by the company GLOBUS is a free adaptation by Carles Grau based on the book On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century, by the American thinker and historian Timothy Snyder;
- The text is an investigation into the tragic 20th century with the aim of extracting lessons for the 21st century in defense of democracy and against authoritarianism;
- It analyzes the fall into authoritarianism in many European countries during the 20th century and draws lessons that can be useful for defending democracy in the 21st century;
- It will be presented on November 17 at 6,30 pm at La Model former prison as part of the International Conference on Spaces of Memory, organized by the Department of Democratic Memory of the City Council of Barcelona.
The play “On Tyranny” begins with several scenes about how authoritarian governments came to power and stayed in it in 20th-century Europe. It describes how authoritarians can take advantage of some of the rules of democracy to make societies drift towards authoritarianism, using precisely the mechanisms proper to a state of law to achieve power. And as these authoritarians gradually control the same democratic institutions, perverting and destroying them. Likewise, it analyzes several indicators that were evident before authoritarianism was imposed in the last century, which can now serve as alerts to read the current reality.
It continues with an analysis of the role of the exaggerated and often enthusiastic obedience shown by a part of the population of the countries involved, and the role that this acceptance of oppression plays in the evolution of societies towards more authoritarian regimes. Finally, it identifies various individual and collective actions that proved successful in fighting authoritarianism in the last century.
Company: Globus
Texts: Carles Grau/Timothy Snyder
Actor: Oscar Intente
Direction and dramaturgy: Carles Grau
Duration: 55 minutes
