The Spanish Society of the University of Edinburgh present… / with the department of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies…
El Público – by Federico Garcia Lorca.
Directed by Salvador Kent.
A figure covered in bells dances for a figure covered in vines. An emperor decides to execute them. A director stages a scandalous Romeo and Juliet. He is declared a criminal. A nude man resembling Christ is visited by two thieves. Four white horses scream for mercy. Two men are in love, always. The audience always wants blood.
Lorca’s late work is a surreal, lyrical expression of desire, creation and the artistic act in the face of a repressed society. Its figures shift between roles and masks, turning from horses to students, from vines to directors, from prompters to shepherds, from thieves to holy men. Its language is rich in images and symbols; appealing to the deepest levels of the human psyche. And it is one of Lorca’s few works that directly explores his homosexuality. Next year, the University of Edinburgh’s Spanish Society will present a new adaptation of the work, redacted for a multi-roling company to tackle Lorca’s self-proclaimed “impossible play”.