The House of Bernarda Alba

In repertory at The Secret Theater with José Rivera’s MARISOL

Federico García Lorca’s masterpiece The House of Bernarda Alba is at the forefront of modern drama’s exploration of magical realism. What can women do to change the direction of a world dominated by men and saturated with madness? How can we confront our desire in the face of death?

After the death of her husband, Bernarda Alba, the dominating mother of five grown daughters, imposes eight years of mourning on her household. Tension and jealousy mounts within the house.

This heavy drama is approached as a provincial comedy by director Michel Chahade and the cast. The players make use of magical realism, commedia dell’arte and Michael Chekhov’s technique to reinforce the absurdist side of power abuse presented by Lorca.

In a surprising and unexpected new English translation by Michel Chahade, exposes different sides of the original text, revealing that it is secretly full of comedy. The company makes use of magical realism, commedia dell’arte and Michael Chekhov’s technique to reinforce the absurdist abuse of power presented by Lorca.