The Red Set (Tiempos Mejores)

Synopsis

A private clinic in Santiago, Chile. A comatose mother lies in bed, surrounded by plants and the conflicting emotions of her adult children

As Tota lies unresponsive in her hospital bed, her four children – Teresa, Cristina, Julio, and Antonio – grapple with the weight of their family’s past and an uncertain future. Their vigil becomes a microcosm of Chile’s own struggle with memory, progress, and identity. As medical bills mount and family tensions rise, they must confront difficult questions about Tota’s care, their own lives, and the legacy of their parents’ generation.

The Red Set is a darkly comic exploration of a family – and by extension, a nation – in transition. Through a series of vignettes spanning several seasons, the play delves into themes of political disillusionment, generational conflict, and the lingering trauma of Chile’s dictatorship era. The siblings’ bickering, reminiscences, and moments of connection are punctuated by the intrusions of Antonio’s wife Mireya, whose outsider status highlights the family’s insularity. As plants gradually overtake the hospital room, mirroring the overgrowth of memory and unresolved feelings, the characters must decide whether to cling to the past or embrace an uncertain future.