UCLA's Diversifying the Classics
The 1689 play "Love Is the Greater Labyrinth," a witty take on Greek mythology, will be presented Sept. 14 at the Nimoy Theater.
Key takeaways:
- LA Escena presents new adaptations and reimaginings of 17th-century Spanish theater classics by artists from around the world.
- Launched in 2018, the biennial festival promotes greater inclusion of Hispanic culture in the theatrical canon.
- LA Escena is produced by UCLA's Diversifying the Classics project.
Bringing together the Old World and the new, the fourth edition of UCLA's biennial Hispanic classical theater festival, LA Escena, takes place from Sept. 12 to 17. For the first time, all performances will be presented at the newly renovated UCLA Nimoy Theater in Westwood.
LA Escena 2024 will include 10 live performances — all free to the public — and one livestreamed presentation. The festival features staged readings of brand-new adaptations and inventive presentations of works from the 17th-century Golden Age of Spanish theater. Performances will be presented in Spanish and English, and the festival dates coincide with the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month on Sept. 15.
LA Escena is produced by UCLA's Diversifying the Classics project, which is based in the UCLA College Division of Humanities. The festival's artistic director is Barbara Fuchs, a UCLA professor of Spanish and English and the founder of Diversifying the Classics.
Los Angeles' first Hispanic classical theater festival, LA Escena launched in 2018 with a mission to promote greater inclusion of Hispanic culture in the theatrical canon. The series celebrates the Spanish Golden Age's rich tradition from both sides of the Atlantic, and through creative reimaginings onstage, LA Escena demonstrates how those works still speak to audiences today.
"To see these vibrant works in the hands of contemporary artists, and to introduce them to new audiences — that is the true joy of LA Escena," Fuchs said. "The plays are constantly reimagined. That's what makes them classics."
Like previous editions of LA Escena, the 2024 series will include performances by companies from Spain (Madrid-based Grumelot) and Mexico (Mulas Teatro and Los Colochos Teatro, both from Mexico City). In addition, the festival will feature "La tinta de mi honra," written and directed by Mexico City–based playwright David Gaitán (Sept. 14 at 9 p.m.).
The lineup will also feature new works from Diversifying the Classics' Golden Tongues series, which commissions modern adaptations of Hispanic classics by local playwrights from diverse backgrounds, in partnership with the legendary Los Angeles theater company Playwrights' Arena.
Other highlights include a new staging of the Mexican author Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz's witty take on Greek mythology, "Love is the Greater Labyrinth" (Sept. 14 at 4 p.m.) and an operatic version of another female author's protofeminist romantic comedy, Ana Caro de Mallén's "Valor" (Sept. 12 at 7 p.m.). Both presentations are based on English translations by Diversifying the Classics.
Los Angeles–based theatre dybbuk will present "The Marvelous Puppet Show" (Sept. 15 at 5 p.m.), an "illuminated lecture" exploring an uncannily prescient play by Miguel de Cervantes about media manipulation and social control.
The festival will conclude with a livestreamed reading of Lope de Vega's "The Beast of Hungary" (Sept. 17 at 4:30 p.m.), performed by New York's Red Bull Theater. The presentation is part of Hispanic Golden Age Classics, Diversifying the Classics' ongoing collaboration with Red Bull.
Tickets for all performances at the Nimoy Theater are free, but advance registration is required. Tickets for "The Beast of Hungary" will be available through the Red Bull Theater website.
