Lorca classic The House of Bernarda Alba (La Casa de Bernarda Alba) gets a major new production – with performances in both Spanish and English – at the custom-built Cervantes Theatre, the new home for Spanish and Latin American drama in London. Have a sneak-peek at our first-look production photos – then get booking!
The House of Bernarda Alba explores themes of repression, passion and conformity through the depiction of a matriarch’s domination of her five daughters. Described by the author as “a drama of women in the villages of Spain”, the deliberate exclusion of any male character from the action helps build the high level of sexual tension that is present throughout this masterpiece.
The House of Bernarda Alba was Lorca’s last play, completed on 19 June 1936, two months before his death during the Spanish Civil War; he was summarily executed by supporters of General Franco, in Granada. Originally banned, its premiere in Spain was not until 1950, and it remained subject to censorship and cuts for forty years after completion, finally being approved for “minors older than 14” in 1978.
In the cross-cast 15-strong company for The House of Bernarda Alba at the Cervantes, directed by Jorge de Juan, the English cast are Jimena Larraguivel, Maite Jauregui, Mary Conlon (Bernarda), Joanna Kate Rodgers, Gilly Daniels, Pia Laborde, Candela Gomez, Carolina Herran, Moir Leslie and Beth Smith; and the Spanish cast are Jimena Larraguivel, Judith Arkwright, Teresa Cendon, Amparo Climent (Bernarda), Maite Jauregui, Pia Laborde, Lucia Espin, Mayca Estevez, Candela Gomez and Carolina Herran.
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