In Diversión Obligatoria, humour is broken, the structure of jokes has been althered, and words, sounds and movements have been displaced. In this world of shadows, one character struggles between depression and diversion.
Starting from an investigation into humour, the title makes reference to ‘mandatory fun’, a strategy that supposedly improves a company’s performance with activities that make the workers feel they’re having fun.
Mandatory fun is therefore the portrait of a depressed generation that uses self-parody as a survival strategy. The new era of post-humour on social media sees existence as absurd and welcomes us to a new dictatorship of humour.
Júlia Barbany is a performer and creator of hybrid theatre who bases her work on humour and the limits of performativity that she calls ‘soft’. Visual arts and odd elements are important features of her work.
A member of the Las Huecas collective, she has collaborated on a range of projects as an actress and assistant director. An Institut del Teatre graduate, she also trained in performance at Helsinki University. She is currently resident artist at Graner centre de creació de dansa i arts vives.
