Ensemble novel · Family drama · Comedy of manners
Medias mesas
The Lázaro Theatre reopens its doors. The town takes a seat at the table. Everything is upside down.
Synopsis
What was once the town’s most important play has lain buried for twenty years.
Fidel longs to make his father, César, proud. He plans to revive the old Lázaro Theatre and bring Medias mesas back to the stage. But César vowed never to return. Vowed never to forgive. Now his son wants to make peace.
Fidel’s attempt is pathetic. He puts together his own company. Only a handful of neighbours volunteer: Alba, Cristian, Julián... People of different ages and temperaments who come to the theatre looking for a pastime and end up entangled in their own conflicts. One person’s pain is another’s comfort. Rumours fly, secrets burn. Estrangement hangs in the air.
That is Medias mesas. That is what the play they must perform is about. A tragicomedy about letting go, disillusionment, and discord, set around the five tables of Botero’s iconic bar: La Pepa, where the gossips sit; La Patronal, where the powerful gather; the drunks’ table, nicknamed La Glorieta; La Solitaria, occupied by the chronicler; and La Coja, which is not only wobbly but cursed. It is the story of Nina and Botero, and of their people. Forty years of memories, deceit, and resignation come crashing down when the truth comes to light.
Two narrative strands
Botero’s bar
The play, set around the five tables of a bar. It brings together forty years of customs, tensions, and secrets.
The Lázaro company
The rehearsals and the lives of the local volunteers are narrated in prose. Fidel sets the project in motion and drives the plot forward, but the spotlight is shared by everyone.