The Public (play)

The Public
Written by	Federico García Lorca
Characters	Director Enrique Manservant Four White Horses First Man Gonzalo Second Man Third Man Fourth Man Helen Vine Leaves Bells First Boy Centurion Emperor Juliet Black Horse Pierrot Costume Ballerina Costume Pyjama Costume Male Nurse Naked Man Five Students Three Ladies Second Boy Two Thieves Prompter Idiot Shepherd Magician Harlequin Lady in Black Gonzalo's Mother
Date premiered	15 February 1978 (1978-02-15)^[1]
Place premiered	University of Puerto Rico^[1]
Original language	Spanish
Setting	The Director's room, A Roman Ruin

The Public (El público), also known as The Audience, is a surrealist play by the twentieth-century Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca.^[2] It was written between 1929 and 1930, but remained unpublished until 1978 and did not receive its first professional theatrical production until 1986.^[3] The world premiere of the play was directed by Victoria Espinosa on 15 February 1978 at the University of Puerto Rico.^[1]

Production History

The Public was first presented at the University of Puerto Rico on 15 February 1978, where it was directed by Victoria Espinosa. A translated version by Henry Livings (in consultation with the director/designer, Ultz) was first performed on 3 October 1988 at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Rodríguez Pagán, Juan Antonio (1999), "2, En las comedias imposibles está mi verdadero teatro...", El otro lado de El público de Lorca, London: Isla Negra Editores (San Juan, P.R), pp. 82–83, ISBN 1881715477
^ Martínez Nadal, Rafael (1974), Lorca's The Public: A Study of his Unfinished Play (El público) and of Love and Death in the Work of Federico García Lorca, London: Calder & Boyars, pp. 70–82, ISBN 0714527521
^ García Lorca, Federico; Edwards, Gwynne (1994), "Introduction", Plays: Three, London: Methuen, pp. xxiv, ISBN 0413652408

The plays of Federico García Lorca

The Butterfly's Evil Spell The Billy-Club Puppets Mariana Pineda The Shoemaker's Prodigious Wife The Love of Don Perlimplín The Public When Five Years Pass The Puppet Play of Don Cristóbal Blood Wedding Yerma Doña Rosita the Spinster Play Without a Title The House of Bernarda Alba

The U.S. premiere of the play, produced by Kaliyuga Arts, opened on February 23, 1989 at the Shepard Theatre Complex in Hollywood, CA. It was directed and designed by John Sowle, with costumes by Silvia Jansons and incidental music by Jules Langert, and featured Robert J. Bennett, Denise Y. Dowse, Roger Gutierrez, Alex Katehakis, Kevin Kirby, Khin-Kyaw Maung, Richard Neil, Steven Patterson, Jane Thurow, Richard Vidan, Courtney Walsh and b. Wyatt in the cast. The production was the recipient of 3 1989 Drama-Logue Awards, for Production, Direction, and Costume Design.