The House of Bernarda Alba
toronto, 2022
Co-produced with Aluna Theatre Coproduction
Iron-willed matriarch Bernarda Alba decrees eight years of mourning following her husband’s death, enacting a domestic lockdown that cuts her five daughters off from the world outside the walls of their home; but her daughters are women, not children, each hungers for her own place in the world. Their repression only fuels their desires for a life beyond.
The House of Bernarda Alba is Federico Garcia Lorca’s last play. Completed in 1936, it was only months later, in the early days of the Spanish Civil War, that he would be assassinated by Franco’s Fascist militia for his homosexuality and socialist politics.
Lorca’s unique theatrical style confronts naturalism. His compelling female characters mark him as one of the most extraordinary playwrights of the 20th century.
In The House of Bernarda Alba, Lorca explores the force of oppression, the conflict between individual freedom, individual desires and societal conventions and conformity. Modernity and tradition clash, showing the destructive nature of decaying traditions.
A Co-Production of Aluna Theatre and Modern Times Stage Company
by Federico Garcia Lorca
Translator: David Johnston
Featuring Beatriz Pizano as Bernarda Alba
About Modern Times
Modern Times Stage creates original Canadian art, reimagines classic work, and adapts plays in different languages and contexts to bring holistic and innovative forms to our contemporary and diverse Toronto audiences. We are committed to exploring, imagining and creating exciting, radical, performing arts in Toronto, while empowering voices that have been historically and presently marginalized – focusing on artists who have immigrated or sought asylum in Canada.
Modern Times is the only Toronto-based Theatre company that prioritizes empowering immigrants, newcomers and refugees as part of our core mandate.
Stage Team:
Rouvan SIlogix
Artistic Director
Steph Crothers
Artistic Producer & Company Manager
Honey Hoseiny
Apprentice
Natasha Anwar
Marketing Associate
Gia Nahmens
Bookkeeper