Passion play reveals true heart of Spain
THE passion and politics of 1930s Spain is being brought to life on the Liverpool stage in Blood Wedding – a classic telling of the true story of a bride forced to decide between the lover she desires and the one society requires.
Poetic and surreal, the seldom-performed work by great Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca is regarded as one of the most innovative and powerful plays of the 20th century.
It begins a short run at the Playhouse tomorrow courtesy of Liverpool’s Cut to the Chase Productions, directed by company founder Jen Hayes. Juan Martin, one of the most acclaimed flamenco guitarists in the world, is among the cast, having composed the music that he will play live during each performance.
Lorca's play is set in a village in Andalusia bustling with preparations for a rural wedding.
He was inspired to write the play by a newspaper account of a local woman who abandoned her husband-to-be on their wedding day to escape with her childhood sweetheart, and used this story to explore desire, repression, ritual and the dilemmas of a rural community blighted by knife crime.
At the centre of the tale is Sabina Franklyn as the Mother.
Sabina began her television career starring in the Rat episode of Fawlty Towers, and has had an extensive career in theatre, but comes to Liverpool for the first time with Blood Wedding.
“It’s a fascinating process and Jen has the most wonderful imagination,” she said.
“It’s a very epic piece to do for English audiences, to try and get the authentic, earthy Spanish feel is a challenge.
“It’s an epic play, wonderfully moving, a big thing to do. It is exciting.”
Of her character, she says: “She’s an archetypal Mother Earth figure, very Spanish, keeps the family together.
“But she’s a tragic figure because, at the start of the play, she has already lost her husband and son. So she has a lot of grief in her life, and her son getting married is the one thing she lives for.”
BLOOD Wedding is on at the Playhouse until November 29.
