Shortly before World War II, Spanish poet and playwright Federico García Lorca wrote The House of Bernarda Alba, in which a family of grieving women are hopelessly at the mercy of their repressed desires. Almost a hundred years later, Trajal Harrell opens the door of two more “houses” to García Lorca’s serious, passionate women.
Trajal Harrell introduces them to the luxurious world of Parisian fashion houses – Dior, Chanel, Balenciaga and others. At the same time, Harrell confronts García Lorca’s women with the dazzling voguing houses. The phenomenon of voguing originated in New York. In “houses” such as House of Xtravaganza, House of Ebony and House of Ninja, Hispanic and African-American (mainly queer) dancers have been meeting in clubs since the 1970s to proudly and stylishly combat exclusion and injustice. In Harrell’s House, a beautifully reconstructed salon, the (supposed) separation between high culture and subculture disappears and is fused with the deep emotion of butoh.
There are two versions of The House of Bernarda Alba: The Hour and The Bomb. The Bomb is the essence of this dance of death, set to Time…and Again by Giya Kancheli.
Staging, Costumes, Soundtrack: Trajal Harrell
With: Titilayo Adebayo, Frances Chiaverini, Maria Ferreira Silva, Marie Goyette, Trajal Harrell, Neave Haworth-Kohner, Max Krause, Perle Palombe, Songhay Toldon, Ondrej Vidlar
Stage Design: Erik Flatmo, Trajal Harrell
Lighting: Stéfane Perraud
Rehearsal Directors: Stephen Thompson, Maria Ferreira Silva
Cooperation stage design: Eva Lillian Wagner
Dramaturgy: Katinka Deecke, Miriam Ibrahim
Audience Development: Mathis Neuhaus
Production Assistance: Camille Charlotte Roduit
Costume design assistance: Mona Eglsoer
Production intern: Lenita Edward
Stage design intern: Rhena Geiger
Costume design intern: Fátima-Frida Salum Said
Inspection: Aleksandar Sascha Dinevski
Production: Schauspielhaus Zürich with the Schauspielhaus Zürich Dance Ensemble
Supported by: Zürcherische Seidenindustrie Gesellschaft & Hulda und Gustav Zumsteg-Stiftung
Diffusion: ART HAPPENS and Schauspielhaus Zürich collaborate on the diffusion of The House of Bernarda Alba
| Date | Performance | City Country | Organisation/Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25.06.2023 | The House of Bernarda Alba | Zurich (ch) | Schauspielhaus Zürich |
| 24.06.2023 | The House of Bernarda Alba | Zurich (ch) | Schauspielhaus Zürich |
| 23.06.2023 | The House of Bernarda Alba | Zurich (ch) | Schauspielhaus Zürich |
| 09.10.2022 | The House of Bernarda Alba | Zurich (ch) | Schauspielhaus Zürich |
| 08.10.2022 | The House of Bernarda Alba | Zurich (ch) | Schauspielhaus Zürich |
| 06.10.2022 | The House of Bernarda Alba | Zurich (ch) | Schauspielhaus Zürich |
| 26.09.2022 | The House of Bernarda Alba | Zurich (ch) | Schauspielhaus Zürich |
| 25.09.2022 | The House of Bernarda Alba | Zurich (ch) | Schauspielhaus Zürich |
| 22.09.2022 | The House of Bernarda Alba | Zurich (ch) | Schauspielhaus Zürich |
| 21.09.2022 | The House of Bernarda Alba | Zurich (ch) | Schauspielhaus Zürich |
| 18.09.2022 | The House of Bernarda Alba | Zurich (ch) | Schauspielhaus Zürich |
| 09.09.2022 | The House of Bernarda Alba | Zurich (ch) | Schauspielhaus Zürich |
| 22.05.2022 | The House of Bernarda Alba | Brussels (be) | Kunstenfestivaldesarts/KVS Bol |
| 21.05.2022 | The House of Bernarda Alba | Brussels (be) | Kunstenfestivaldesarts/KVS Bol |
| 20.05.2022 | The House of Bernarda Alba | Brussels (be) | Kunstenfestivaldesarts/KVS Bol |
| 19.05.2022 | The House of Bernarda Alba | Brussels (be) | Kunstenfestivaldesarts/KVS Bol |