Love and Gender Equality Clash in the Theatrical Production «Honor»

The acclaimed play by Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith will feature only four performances at GAM from November 6 to 9. Directed by Jesús Urqueta, the cast includes Solange Lackington, Bastián Bodenhöfer, Magdalena Müller, and Octavia Bernasconi.

The Citizen

29/10/2025 5:59pm

Original article: Amor e igualdad de género se enfrentan cara a cara en obra teatral «Honor»

Love and Gender Equality Clash in the Theatrical Production «Honor»

Premiering in 1995 in Melbourne, «Honor» stands as one of the most successful works by Joanna Murray-Smith, a prominent contemporary playwright from Australia.

This play has been performed in over 30 countries, and its Broadway adaptation in 1998 featured three-time Academy Award nominee Laura Linney in one of the lead roles.

The local rendition is produced by the Centro para las Artes Zoco, now arriving at GAM under the direction of Jesús Urqueta, who presents an emotional drama that intertwines humor with a feminist perspective.

Centered around a family drama marked by infidelity and identity crises, the play delves into themes of love, loyalty, and women’s empowerment, portrayed through four characters played by Solange Lackington, Bastián Bodenhöfer, Magdalena Müller, and Octavia Bernasconi.

On stage, Honor (Lackington) and George (Bodenhöfer) have been married for 32 years. She is a successful writer, and he is a well-known columnist. Their understanding seems perfect until one day he announces he is leaving her for Claudia (Müller), a younger woman.

Nearly two decades after its world premiere, the play continues to provide a powerful reflection on desire, fidelity, the passage of time, and the historical role of women in relationships.

“The play challenges concepts through the intimate experience of a long-standing couple facing an unexpected breakup. In a present where certainties have become fragile and traditional models of love are in crisis, it feels urgent to stage these questions not seeking answers but rather opening spaces of discomfort, doubt, and sensitivity,” reflects director Jesús Urqueta.

«Honor» confronts the audience with timeless dilemmas surrounding ethics and aging, while also addressing contemporary debates such as women’s postponement in favor of men’s ambitions and gender solidarity, highlighted in the dynamics between the wife and mistress characters.

“The play also explores how a young woman tells an older one, ‘I am dignifying your sacrifice.’ However, the older woman responds, ‘Isn’t it curious that you’re taking my husband and saying you’re on my side?’ So, what respect or solidarity are we discussing? To what extent do the limits exist? One might say, ‘The man is to blame,’ but culpability lies with both parties,” Solange Lackington shared with Radio U Chile.

Urqueta insists this text is universal: “You face a narrative that presents complex confrontations among humans which is also highly accessible to the audience, as viewers can easily relate,” he asserts. “The audience will witness a relationship that transforms, and perhaps, through that process, they may also confront their own ways of loving,” concludes the director.