Theatre Critic Stephane Capron Sues Artist Angélica Liddell for On-Stage Insults

According to the Guardian, french theatre critic Stéphane Capron has sued theatre artist Angélica Liddell for libel.

The incident took place at the opening show of her play Dämon: El funeral de Bergman (Demon: Bergman’s Funeral) during the Avignon performing arts festival on Saturday, June 29. 

The Guardian reports that at the start of the performance, Liddell read reviews from various critics to the audience, asking them to "face your own vileness," stating “I despise and hate you.” She also lifted the back of her dress to the audience.

Lidell singled out Caprone and called him a "cabrón," or "bastard" on stage.

Caprone sued, and asked the theatre "to exclude his name from future performances at the festival."

The Syndicat de la Critique union for theatre, music, and dance critics issued support for the critic: “In the same way that we support freedom of creation, we support freedom of the press. Critics, in our country, are still free to write, to express a point of view. Artists too, within the limits of public insult.”

Read the full report from the Guardian here.

Dämon: El funeral de Bergman (Demon: Bergman’s Funeral) will play Barcelona from 19 to 21 July and will then go to Madrid.

Born in Figueres, Girona, in 1966, Angélica Liddell is writer, theatral director, actress and one of the most unclassifiable Spanish creators and with the greatest international projection. She formed the company Atra Bilis Teatro in 1993. Her works have been presented all around the world. Among her latest works, El año de Ricardo,Todo el cielo sobre la tierra (El síndrome de Wendy), El ciclo de las resurrecciones and, recently, Qué haré yo con esta espada, have been premiered at such prestigious places as the Festival d’Avignon, Wiener Festwochen, la Schaubühne de Berlin, and the Théâtre de l’Odeón in Paris. Among other acknowledgements, she received the National Award for Drama Literature from the Ministry of Culture in Spain in 2012 and in 2013, she was awarded the Silver Lion at the Biennale Teatro in Venice. She has recently received the Leteo 2016 award for literature. In 2017, she was named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by he Ministry of Culture and Communication of the French Republic.

Photo Credit: Christophe Renaud de Lage