NTS Launch New Bernarda Alba

This autumn the National Theatre of Scotland presents a major new version of Federico Garcia Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba at the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh. Set in contemporary Scotland, Rona Munro’s edgy translation is directed by John Tiffany and features Siobhan Redmond in the title role. Following the gangland execution of her husband, the formidable matriarch Bernarda Alba will do anything to safeguard her family’s 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 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 transposed in this version to the tough communities of Glasgow’s East End. The full cast is Jo Freer, Vanessa Johnson, Anne Lacey, Louise Ludgate, Heather Nimmo, Julie Wilson Nimmo, Myra McFadyen, Mary McCusker, Una McLean, Carmen Pieraccini, Siobhan Redmond and Morag Stark.

- by Joseph Pike

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