Julio Torres - Colour Theories

Julio Torrens’ show has been a hit at this year’s Comedy Festival - his popularity has risen to cult status after starring in his first feature film - a surrealist comedy drama Problemista (2023), followed by his own absurdist TV series Fantasmas (2024).

He is low-key, sits at his makeshift desk on stage and uses the projection screen to highlight the shapes and sketches he draws for us as he talks as through his colour concepts. The basics of his colour theory - blue is logic or law and order, red is rage, yellow is passion, secondary colours such as green is peaceful and orange is a mix of red and yellow. His template is easy to follow once you get the hang of it.

He equates colours to popular icons such as Ellen DeGeneres and how her show makes him feel yellow, but sometimes very orange.  The Rock (Dwayne Johnston)  is  orange because he is “somewhere between a beachball and  his childlike words”. Torrens brand of humour is steeped in popular culture and the  crowd love his unique  absurd comic style.

He grew up in El Salvador during the civil war, and moved to New York where his love of film, writing and acting lead him to writing comedy skits for Saturday Night Live. He hangs it on the straights (heterosexuals) for being so straight because he’s so proudly gay. He loves making jokes about his mother; she is an outlined blue square coloured in red scrawl equals logic and rage. Maybe he has an Oedipus complex?

His method of analysis is what makes his show so peculiar and funny. His audience are here for a good time, familiar with his brand of comedy and ride along with him and spur him to venture off the grid, and he does, but not without his bag of colour theory tricks and gags.

He describes comical moments in close-up, long shot the colour purple (intrigue and mystery) the woman - you never see her face, but you see her stiletto as she steps out of the car. He talks about characters and people in colour codes and pushes boundaries with his fuzzy surreal-absurd moments in his own life. He pokes fun at the bureaucracy (navy blue) and raises social awareness with poignant and relevant observations about places and cities he visits and lives.

Amazing show!

Flora Georgiou