MINIATURE PLAYS IN A MADRID BROTHEL | The Roving Vlogger Day 8 (2017-10-07)

From movies to miniature plays, I explore some of Madrid's more modern "art" scenes.

While my parents went to THREE different art museums in one day, Nash and I hung out and relaxed. We may have relaxed a little bit too much - I fell asleep reading my book!

When I awoke, Nash suggested we practice our Spanish while staying introverted by going to a movie theater.

While it seems outdated in the age of Netflix, going to the movies is a special treat for us. And it's always interesting to see how the things you enjoy at home translate to another country.

For instance, in Guatemala sometimes theaters are just a couple couches in front of a television. At Acteón near Puerta del Sol, the line for tickets was much longer than we get at home, with panhandlers shaking cups under our hands as we paid for the cash-only movie. (Spain, why don't you use credit cards more often?)

We picked a movie that was set in Madrid called Toc Toc. It was about a group of people all suffering from different variations of OCD, or Trastorno Obsesivo Compulsivo (TOC) as it is known in Spanish. One of the variations of the compulsions is a girl who always repeats everything she says at least twice, hence “Toc Toc” (which also means knock-knock).

The plot: A group of obsessive compulsives all decide to see a famous psychologist for treatment and find themselves stuck in a waiting room together, after they were all “accidentally” scheduled for the same time. Hilarity ensues.

I didn’t find the comedy all that funny, and I wonder if the same movie in the politically-correct US would draw criticism for making fun of people with Tourette's, germaphobia, etc. As always, I don’t know how much was lost in translation for me. SPOILER ALERT they find out that helping each other helps their compulsions.

Madrid’s streets on a Saturday night are a terrifying thing to behold, like an anthill that has just been kicked. Seemingly everyone in a city of over 5 million people poured out into the streets looking for a good time.

My mom and I took refuge inside a dessert shop called Malvy's Shakes. They sold over-the-top-looking milkshakes and taiyaki with plenty of vegan options.

We shared a crazy chocolatey wafflely creation that fortunately didn’t taste too sugary. We sat on a pink couch enjoying our “dinner” while groups of girls came through, Instagrammed their treats, and left. Before we knew it, it was time to head around the corner to catch our miniature show.

At Microteatro Por Dinero, small troupes of performers cram into tiny rooms in an old brothel to perform 15-minute skits at 4€ a piece.

I had tried to get a pantomimed show for my mom’s sake, since she doesn’t speak much Spanish, but it was sold out - as was almost everything else. If you plan to go on a weekend, I recommend paying 0.50€ extra to pre-purchase tickets on their website. Instead, we saw a show whose name translates to “My Cat Would Never Eat Me”. We chose it because we’d seen a super chill cat hanging outside.

The ten members of the audience squeezed onto tiny stools or stood along the walls as the two performers launched into their theatrics inches away from our noses.

The plot: A saucy waitress mocks a customer for being single, going so far as to say she will probably end up being eaten by her cats. The customer rants about how all men are pigs, at one point screaming this into a male audience member’s face. But it all works out in the end. The customer agrees to get set up on a date and give the waitress an interview.

It was such a weird experience! Despite the craziness, I'm really glad I went. These little rooms have seen all sorts of obscene acts, and while the show we saw was all-ages, many of the late-night scenes are risque. If I had attended the previous night I probably would have seen “Subasta un pene” instead jajaja.

After the walk back through the madness of central Madrid, I was exhausted again. I've had a wonderful time in the city, but I'm all too ready to head to the countryside.

My Expenditures

Lodging: $28.75
Transportation: $0
Food: $10.04
Entertainment: $13.00
Total: $51.79

I'm actually more caught up on videos than these posts! The internet keeps dropping out so it's hard to upload anything. Stick with me, there will be better stuff to come in a few days.

-Katie, @therovingreader

_{!steemitworldmap 40.421558 lat -3.681375 long At Microteatro Por Dinero, 4 euros and 15 spare minutes can get you one of the most "intimate" shows on earth. D3SCR}

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