The House of Bernarda Alba: a modern adaptation

Following the gangland execution of her husband, the formidable matriarch Bernarda Alba will do anything to safeguard her family's dubious fortune and the future of her five daughters. A deal is struck - a marriage of convenience between her eldest girl and the son of a business rival. All Bernarda has to do is ensure that the wedding happens, and quickly. Five headstrong daughters cooped up in the family home in an emotionally charged atmosphere of bitter rivalry and repressed sexuality make that an epic challenge.

One of the most celebrated European dramas of the 20th century, the play was finished by Lorca shortly before he was executed in Spain for his left-wing politics. He described it as a "drama of women in the villages of Spain" - a theme that is electrifyingly transposed in this version to the tough communities of Glasgow's East End. Faithfully preserving Lorca's sense of boiling tension and impending tragedy, this adaptation brings a classic text thrillingly up to date.

This text was published to coincide with the world premiere of the adaptation, a production by the National Theatre of Scotland in 2009.

Auteur

Federico García Lorca was born in 1898, in Andalusia, Spain. A poet and dramatist, and also a gifted painter and pianist, his early popular ballads earned him the title of 'poet of the gypsies'. In 1930 he turned his attention to theatre, visiting remote villages and playing classic and new works for peasant audiences. In 1936, shortly after the outbreak of Civil War, he was murdered by Nationalist partisans. His body was never found.