Dei miti del cinema, delle assenze e di uno specchio refrattario: il crocevia scenico di Rodrigo Mauregui

Rodrigo Mauregui’s solo play Luces en el Espejo: La Última Función concludes its run at Beckett Teatro in Buenos Aires, marking the culmination of a deeply personal artistic journey. The production, which has been in development since 2024, explores the psychological and existential turmoil of a man grappling with unresolved frustrations and fragmented identity. Drawing heavily from cinematic icons such as Taxi Driver, Nosferatu, and The Shining, the piece functions as both a tribute to film and a mirror reflecting the artist's inner world. Mauregui, who wrote and performed the work, described the process as one that revealed layers of his own biography he had previously overlooked. “As the performances progressed, I realized the play contains more of me than I had anticipated,” he reflected, emphasizing how theater can unveil hidden aspects of the self. The genesis of the project traces back to Mauregui’s earlier role as the Joker in a previous stage adaptation. That experience inspired him to create a work that would challenge his acting abilities while bridging the gap between cinema and theater. He envisioned a performance that would not merely reference these iconic films but instead serve as a psychological test, exploring the boundaries of identity through their influence. “I wanted to write a play that would push me to those levels, but also merge film and theater into a space where powerful questions could emerge,” he explained. This vision was shaped during early rehearsals under the direction of Santiago Ríos, whose creative input helped establish the initial framework of the production. Ríos’s sudden passing in late 2025 forced a dramatic shift in the production. His death occurred just weeks before the original premiere, leaving the team to reconfigure the show mid-process. Osvaldo Peluffo took over as director, bringing a new aesthetic sensibility to the work. Under Peluffo’s guidance, the play evolved significantly, moving away from its initially rationalist tone toward a more dreamlike, surrealist interpretation. “With Osvaldo’s involvement, everything changed,” Mauregui noted. “What was once very much in the style of Klaus Kinski became far more poetic and abstract. Now, the boundary between what the character experiences and what actually occurs is blurred.” This transformation is evident in the current staging, which abandons the conventional fourth-wall technique. Instead, the protagonist embarks on a psychologically intense journey, with physical transformations occurring live before the audience. These changes, such as the makeup of the Joker or Nosferatu, are executed in real time, demanding a unique blend of emotional truth and physical precision. “The makeup of the Joker must be spot-on; otherwise, the image breaks,” Mauregui emphasized, highlighting the rigorous training required for this form of performance. His preparation included exercises designed to maintain vocal strength and stamina, such as climbing stairs repeatedly during rehearsals. At the heart of the play lies a tension between resistance and transformation. The narrative unfolds as a confrontation with internal demons, exploring themes of identity, memory, and the limits of self-perception. Through the lens of cinema, Mauregui examines how art can become a site of reckoning, a place where the past confronts the present, and where the self is both revealed and obscured. The final performance represents not just an end, but a moment of reckoning, where the boundaries between fiction and reality dissolve, leaving behind a lingering question: What truths remain unseen?