“The House of Bernarda Alba”, Federico García Lorca’s last play, was written in 1936, a few months before Lorca was jailed and executed. The plot takes place in a Spanish village in Andalusia, a country on the eve of the Civil War, oppressed by fascism.
This masterpiece explores such themes as passion, oppression and conformity in a male dominated rural society, through the eyes of Bernarda and her daughters. The exclusion of any male character generates a high level of sexual tension, five sisters living on the edge of unfulfilled desires and unattainable dreams. Besides being one of the great 20th century dramaturges, Federico García Lorca was an outstanding poet and a free spirit. Willing to honor his writing genius, the play will include selected poems recited in Spanish from “Romancero Gitano” by a special guest, actor Antonio Mazu, that will portray the role of Federico García Lorca. Challenged by the powerful and dramatic plot of “The House of Bernarda Alba”, French sculptor Véronique Chalandar is coming from Paris following an Et Voilà Théâtre invitation, to create a scenic design inspired by the feminine characters of this play. She will use a technique that has been reproduced in all her “Originelles” collection: a sculpture built on a very fine structure, to emphasize the elevation of the characters, liberated from the traditional aesthetic models. Plot summary After becoming a widow, Bernarda Alba holds her five daughters mourning for eight years. The young girls yearn for love and freedom but their dreams are suffocated by their mother’s will. The eldest daughter, Angustias, born from Bernarda’s first marriage, inherited much wealth from her father. Thus Pepe le Romano, the only man deemed worthy by Bernarda to marry any of her daughters, is engaged to Angustias, creating jealousy and frustration from the other sisters for they feel it is unfair. 2010 French Cultures Festival official event. This work is funded in part by grants from the Houston Arts Alliance, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the Consulate of Spain in Houston. |
Director
Clara Ploux Cast Ewa Ciesielski Anne Deshoulières Valérie Huguet Pascale Lazare Perrine Legoullon Marie Maurannes Antonio Mazu Ines Muñoz Sylvia Paredes Aurélia Peuchot Anne-Laure Reymond-Christensen Laurence Sebeyran Isabelle Vanasse Grosdidier Joëlle Verstraeten Crew Sets: Véronique Chalandar Props: Anne Krayenbuhl Adaptation: Yves Cloots Surtitles: Loïc Steinthal Light and sound: Guillaume Thomas-Collignon Photography: Thierry Danard Video: Luc Schlumberger Poster: Véronique Chalandar Graphic Designer: Armelle Lahitette Website: Pascal Ploux Box office: Véronique Schlumberger Sponsoring and communication: Joëlle Ciesielski, Armelle Lahitette, Karine Parker-Lemoyne, Véronique Schlumberger |