"What We Owe Our Lies," by Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, translated by Barbara Fuchs and the UCLA Working Group
Mexican writer Alarcón imagines a Madrid in which a foreign suitor can wreak havoc with preexisting alliances. Urbanity and urban space are at the heart of this play: how do you sort out affections when the women you court live literally on top of each other, in a house with multiple stories? Parents remain offstage as sons and daughters must figure out their obligations to each other and to who they are, or at least who they say they are.
The UCLA Working Group on the Comedia in Translation and Performance has brought an engaging and lively translation of Juan Ruiz de Alarcón’s comedia to light.
This volume is part of the Diversifying the Classics project at UCLA, which seeks to foster awareness and appreciation of the Hispanic Golden Age and give theater professionals the materials and tools to explore its rich tradition.
Series: UCLA Center for 17th- and 18th-Century Studies: the Comedia in Translation and Performance, #3
ISBN 978-1-58871-326-1 (PB)