Refurbishing La Casa de Bernarda Alba for Irish Context: A Proposal

This project proposes an adaptation of Federico García Lorca's 'La Casa de Bernarda Alba' to an Irish context, specifically focusing on the historical period of the 20th century when the Catholic Church held significant power. The adaptation, titled "The Cherry Tree?", is set in an Irish orphanage and explores themes of repression, authority, and reputation, mirroring the original play's critical intentions. The project details the characters, setting, and thematic elements, emphasizing the suppression of women within a patriarchal system and the impact of societal norms. The proposal includes suggestions for staging, music, and dialogue to maintain the essence of Lorca's work while resonating with an Irish audience. The play's climax involves the shooting of an abuser and the subsequent attempts to conceal the truth, reflecting the original's exploration of honor and societal expectations.

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La casa de Bernarda Alba
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Refurbishing
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Introduction
La Casa De Bernarda Alba or The House of Bernarda Alba was written by the famous
Spanish poet and playwright, Federico García Lorca in 1936 (Language Trainers 2019). This was
the last play written by him before he was shot down by the fascist Falangist group. La Casa De
Bernarda Alba play was staged for the first time in 1945 and enjoyed critical success. Ever since
the play has been resonating among the audiences across cultures in several adaptations. The
paper presents a proposal for an adaptation of La casa de Bernarda Alba to an Irish context.
Lorca expresses the authoritarianism of the fascist regime Spain through the domestic
tensions within a family in the play. The characters of the play try to maintain their individuality
within a repressive society (Language Trainers 2019). Lorca, who faced repression for his
homosexuality explores different themes of repression, familial obligation, envy and love among
family members in the play. Spanish children first learn about virginity in women and chastity in
men from the stories of the saints and martyrs. Lorca was a true advocate of women' s liberation,
and through his play, he conveys the suppression of woman' s freedom excuse of the norms set
by the social forces (Alvarez-Altman 2019, p. 185).
The play is set in Andalusia in Spain, and the plot revolves around Bernarda Alba, a
family’s matriarch and her five daughters. Bernarda forces her daughters to sit in her house and
mourn the death of their stepfather for eight years as per the family tradition. They are not to
wear any makeup and allowed to wear only black. By locking her family within her housed,
Bernarda can avoid the criticism and rumours spreading in the village about her late husband’s
affair with their maid Blanca (Language Trainers 2019). Tensions prevail within the house as
one of the girls has a secret affair and it is hinted that one of the daughters might be pregnant.
Bernarda shoots the man and claims that he has run off and is not dead. The daughter commits

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suicide and Bernarda, more concerned with her family reputation tells everyone that her daughter
died a virgin.
A proposal based on the formal and thematic elements
When making an adaptation of La Casa de Bernarda Alba to an Irish context, it is
essential that the resulting adaptation is able to maintain the social, political, religious, and moral
critical intention of the original play. The historical period of the twentieth century Ireland would
be chosen to place the play as this was the time when the Catholic Church had supreme power
over many aspects of political and cultural life. There was a climate of sexual repression and
women had little control over issues like contraception, abortion, homosexuality, and divorce
(Antosik-Parsons 2014, p. 138). As there were many scandals involving Bishops and Fathers,
who fathered children, there was a growing disquiet amongst Irish Catholics about the chaste
morals and values preached by the church (Antosik-Parsons 2014, p. 139). Church authorities
eroded their position because of calculated cover-ups of the reports of clerical sexual abuse. The
play can be based within an Irish church and show the sexual and emotional abuse committed
against children by various religious-run residential institutions.
If the play were to be set in the present, it would be set within the realms of distant rural
landscapes where women still live under a patriarchal system and are suppressed by society. The
play adaptation would focus on the lives of women within a family and their freedom within the
society.
The tile of the play would be “The cherry tree?” and it would be based in an orphanage
run by an Irish church. Most of the characters in the play are women. Bernarda Alba plays the
leading role of the matriarchal widow who lives with her five daughters, and she would get the
name, Deirdre. Her maid and confidante, La Poncia’s character would be named Ealga. The

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oldest daughter Angustias would be named Ethna, Magdalena the second daughter would be
named Iona, Amelia the third daughter would be named Macha, Martirio the fourth daughter
would be named Sorcha and Adela the youngest and the fifth daughter would be named Oona.
The character of Bernarda's Mother, Maria Josefa would be named Grainne. There is only one
male character of the play, and he never appears on stage. There are just slight rumors and
sounds of passionate lovemaking between him and Adela in the barn. Although he is an invisible
character, he is omnipresent because of the constant talk about him among the women (Alvarez-
Altman 2019, p. 182).
The play would revolve around an orphanage for girls in a small city in Ireland during
thirties. The in charge of the orphanage would be the character of Bernarda, who represents
repression that is shaped by archaic and retrograde mentalities (Pino 2016, p. 212). She responds
to the code of conduct imposed upon her by the archaic society in which she lives (Pino 2016, p.
217). Her character in the adapted play would be the main one and should reflect authority and
oppression. She is oppressed by society and thus transfers the oppressions within her household.
She acts as an authoritative figure and expects her family to obey her wishes. Her authority is
never questioned and continues as is evident by the last world of the play "Silence!" In the play,
she would exercise her oppression over the children in the orphanage.
The daughters in the original play would be the orphan girls in the play who are kept
under a strict vigil by the in charge of the orphanage, Deirdre and her maid Ealga. As the play
establishes that social position and reputation comes before anything else and must be protected
at any cost. The adapted play should carry the main themes of the play which revolve around
authority, oppression, and reputation. The play builds towards the final scene, which is the
climax, where mother shoots the secret lover of her daughter shows that Bernarda censors’ truth

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in the name of honor as the honor of the family must not be tainted at any cost. A strong critique
disturbs the logic between truth and honor (da Silva Perez 2015, p 39). The adapted play should
follow the themes of the original play so that the essence of the plot is not lost. It is essential to
select the right words for the right moment so as to create the right emotional reason without
deviating from the original metaphorical aspects of the play.
The stage of the play should carry both realistic and symbolic elements. For example, the
background should show a distant image of the Catholic church that is always present and
looming over the characters. The interiors of the room should be simple and bare.
When Lorca’s play filters into the English-speaking system, it needs support to keep the
aesthetic potential of the original with the help of cover art and support material. The translated
script should be a substitution for the original and stir the consciousness of the receiving culture.
The play can have background music that reflects the melancholic mood of the characters. There
can be songs that tell the audience of the thoughts and emotions going on inside the mind of the
characters, whether it is the in charge of the orphanage or the orphan girls. Those songs and the
music should convey the struggles going on within the orphanage and how those orphans live
tense lives in their isolated existence. The sound of church bells tolling should repeat in-between
the scenes.
Colours play a significant role in the original play where the mother does not allow the
girls to wear bright colours and expects them to dress in black and with no makeup. The colour
red has been used as the symbol of purity and virginity in the original play. In the adaptation, the
orphanage girls can be shown wearing dull coloured clothes and the only source of colour on the
stage is the bright image of Christ and church. The climax of the play can be where the eldest girl
in the orphanage shoots the father who has been abusing her over the years. However, the

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orphanage in-charge tries to keep the matter secret and buries the body of the father with her
maid in the backyard of the orphanage and plants a cherry tree on there.
A brief example of relevant dialogue
Deirdre (Bernarda Alba)- Where is Ethna? And Magdalena?Oona(youngest)- I saw her outside in
the yard by the gate. The gardener just left.
Deirdre - And what did you also go to the gate?
Oona – I went to see what flowers they had planted.
Deirdre – But the gardener and his helpers were there?
Oona – Yeah, they were almost going away.
Deirdre - (Furious.) Good Lord! Ethna! Magdalena!
Magdalena –(Entering.) What do you send?
Deirdre - What were you doing outside and looking at whom?
Magdalena – Nobody.
Deirdre - Is it decent for a young girl to go with the bait behind a man? Answers! Who were you
looking at?
Magdalena – Nobody.
Deirdre - (Moving forward and hitting her.) Here!
Magdalena cries
Ealga (maid)- (Enters running.) Deirdre, calm down!
Deirdre- Get out of here all of you!

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Bibliography
Antosik-Parsons, K. 2014, "Suppressed Voices: The Suffering and Silencing of Irish Institutional
Abuse Survivors in Áine Phillips’s Redress Performances", Études irlandaises, , no. 39-
1, pp. 137-152.
Alvarez-Altman, G., 2019. Sexual Nihilism in The House of Bernarda Alba by Garcia Lorca: A
Literary Onomastic Vignette. Literary Onomastics Studies, 11(15), pp.178-195.
da Silva Perez, N., 2015. Productive Contradictions in The House of Bernarda
Alba. Performance Paradigm, 1(1), pp.32-45.
Language Trainers, 2019. La Casa De Bernarda Alba Summary languagetrainers [Online]
( 2018) Available at:
<https://www.languagetrainers.com/reviews/book-reviews/spain/the-house-of-bernarda-
alba> [Accessed 25 Apr. 2019].
Pino, M.C., 2016. La influencia de La casa de Bernarda Alba en la creación de personajes
femeninos en la obra de Gabriel García Márquez. Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, 1(1),
pp.209-220.