‘The Many Lorcas’ Symposium a Great Success
3 November 2008‘Out of the Wings’ was represented well at this weekend’s ‘Beyond Spanish: The Many Lorcas’ symposium at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry. We received a very warm welcome from the theatre’s Artistic Director, Hamish Glen. The day was well attended, with fifty delegates braving the rain to hear talks by David Johnston, Catherine Boyle, Jo Clifford, Mike Thompson, Paul Binding and Nicholas Boalsch. After a delightful sandwich lunch, we were escorted over to a theatre space next door where we were treated to a special performance of ‘Play without a Title’, translated by David Johnston and directed by Jonathan Heron of Fail Better Productions. After the production we were very privileged to be able to discuss the play and the director’s approach with the company, and the mix of theatre practice with a room full of knowledge of Lorca bred fruitful discussion. We were fed once again by the Belgrade’s fantastic catering service, after meeting the cast and dramaturg for ‘The House of Bernarda Alba’. As we had been discussing the play all day in the symposium, it was the perfect culmination to the day to see Gadi Roll’s full production up on the stage. Afterwards we chatted with the actors and translator and it seemed the symposium would extend into the night, with a real buzz around the day and a feeling of success and thought-provoking conversation.
In addition to thanking the ensembles of both ‘Play without a Title’ and ‘The House of Bernarda Alba’, we were especially impressed with the quality of the facilities, catering, and service provided by the Belgrade Theatre. We’ll certainly be back for another visit.
