Cuervo

Two sons tell the story of their father's experience in Chilean concentration camps in this biographical theater piece.

Cosme and Óscar Castro, sons of the late Chilean playwright and theatre director Óscar “Cuervo” Castro, bring their father’s unpublished theatrical autobiography to the world. 

In 1974, Óscar and his sister Marietta were arrested and tortured by agents of the Chilean military dictatorship. Despite the extreme violence, Óscar turned his experience in Chile’s concentration camps into a work of art by staging plays in the camps’ dining halls, transforming the lives of hundreds of prisoners.

Guided by their father’s narrative, Cosme and Óscar Jr. set out in search of his former fellow prisoners. They visited the camps where he was imprisoned, retracing his steps throughout his two years of political imprisonment and theatrical activities.

The result of this labor of love is Cuervo: a documentary theater performance enriched with drawings and sketches, shadows and silhouettes and images filmed in Chile by Óscar’s sons half a century later. Cuervo weaves through memory and highlights the impact of art as a means of resistance and resilience in the face of oppression.

Supported by Theatre & New Forms, a program of Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation. Additional support provided by the José Luis Nazar Endowment for the Performing Arts.