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Written in 1936, this was to be Lorca’s last work,
and - despite being quite different in style to his earlier works - it
is considered to be one of his best. The story is of a group of women
in a Spanish village trying to cope with the pressures of religion and
family, and it is ably told by this cast.
We first meet the characters on the day of their father’s funeral.
Bernarda is the mother of five daughters, all of whom are kept apart from
the rest of society by the their mother’s small-town catholic morals.
Most of what they know of the outside world they have learned through
gossiping with the maids. The only way out that they have is to marry,
if they can find someone who Bernarda sees as worthy. When the eldest
daughter is engaged to be married, tensions flare up among the sisters
as each of them unleashes their feelings which have too long been held
in check.
The staging and direction is sparse throughout the production, the characters
wearing black or white (with only one notable exception), the walls showing
little decoration. Much of the action of the play happens offstage; in
fact no male character so much as makes an appearance, despite Pepe’s
actions being central to the story. We are left to hear everything second-hand,
at a distance, echoing the situation in which the daughters find themselves
in the house. Bernarda places more importance on the neighbours and what
they might think than on the feelings and needs of the people that live
under the her roof. All of the actresses play their roles well, Lucy Atkinson
in particular bringing energy to a difficult role and Ellia Taylor managing
to make the 60 year old Poncia believable. The production manages to reach
a poignant and believable climax (I will admit that they had me on the
brink of tears).
The only problem that I had with this production was a personal one, relating
to translation. Having lived in Spain for several years and read some
of Lorca’s works in the original language, it was occasionally grating
to hear what should have been poetic, peculiarly Spanish speech patterns
and rhythms performed by characters not totally ‘in sync’ with
this culture. Not everyone will notice, but for me it was the only taint
on an otherwise impressive performance.
Keith Ibsen, 06.05.03
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