Displaying items by tag: Guillem Clua

Open Space Arts has announced it will stage the Chicago Premiere of THE SWALLOW - the internationally acclaimed drama by Spanish playwright Guillem Clua, author of the comedy SMILEY, which Open Space Arts produced from June 3 to July 19 this year. In this two-character 90-minute play, a voice lesson becomes a profound experience for the music teacher and her adult student. As they work together on a song, what initially seems like a simple musical exchange becomes something more personal, more complicated, and more revealing.
 
THE SWALLOW (originally titled LA GOLONDRINA) premiered in London in 2018. It was produced in Madrid the following year, with Carmen Maura, the star of seven films directed by the legendary Pedro Almodovar, as the music teacher. THE SWALLOW has also been staged in Athens, Rome, Washington, DC, and New York City. The Open Space Arts production will open on Friday, September 11, at 7:30 pm, and play Fridays through Sundays through September 27. All performances are in Open Space Arts' hyper-intimate 25-seat theatre at 1411 W. Wilson Ave., Chicago.

Open Space Arts' production of THE SWALLOW will be directed by Laine Rogers, whose credits include work with a wide swath of Chicago theatre companies, including MadKap Productions, Piven Theatre, Raven Theatre, Concert Opera of Greater Chicago, Pride Arts, Actors Training Center, Muskegon Civic Theatre, and DePaul University. Her cast will include Chicago veteran actress Michelle McKenzie-Voight as the teacher, Emily, and Jim Nally, a recent transplant to Chicago from Cleveland, as Ray. The production team is Dorothy Sargent (Stage Manager), Rick Paul (Set Designer), Dominique Favre (Costume Designer), Sean Smyth (Lighting and Sound Designer), and Mark Forbis (Original Music). 

SMILEY author Guillem Clua is one of Spain's most widely produced contemporary playwrights. His work has been staged internationally and translated into multiple languages. His plays, including SMILEY and THE SWALLOW, are known for their emotional intelligence, wit, and insight into the complexities of human connection. While SMILEY has become a global audience favorite, it has had only limited exposure in the United States, with select Spanish-language productions in New York and Miami. Open Space Arts' production introduces this internationally celebrated work to Chicago audiences, offering a fresh opportunity to experience one of the most engaging contemporary queer love stories to emerge from the European stage. 

Tickets for THE SWALLOW are $30.00 ($25.00 for students and seniors) and are on sale now at www.openspacearts.org. 

THE SWALLOW
By Guillem Clua
English Translation by Tim Gutteridge
Directed by Laine Rogers
September 11–27, 2026
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 PM, Sundays at 3:00 PM
Open Space Arts, 1411 W. Wilson Ave., Chicago
Tickets $30.00 general admission, $25.00 students and seniors. On sale now at https://www.openspacearts.org

THE SWALLOW is set during a private singing lesson between a choral director and a new student. As they work together on a song, what initially seems like a simple musical exchange becomes something more personal, more complicated, and more revealing.
 
With humor, tension, and emotional precision, the play explores grief, memory, family, faith, identity, and the stories people tell in order to survive. Music becomes both a refuge and a doorway, allowing two strangers to move toward truths that have been difficult to face. THE SWALLOW is a powerful theatrical encounter about loss, compassion, and the possibility of connection when people are willing to listen.