En otro reino extraño; Lope de Vega and love in pandemic times.

Abstract

En otro reino extraño is a wager by the Compañia Nacional de Teatro Clásico (National Classical Theatre Company) that, during the confinement caused by COVID-19 and the state of alarm in Spain, ventures to bring Lope de Vega to new technologies, thus removing it from the stage, its natural habitat. A theater video creation made entirely through telematic media, without any personal contact among the team members. In the process, creativity was juxtaposed with restrictions, expressive potential with technical limitations, verse with image, love with pandemic, the 17th century with the 21st century. As director of the performance, I share the dramatic, esthetic, acting, and narrative fabrics of the staging. Creative premises, starting points, evolution, relationship and rehearsal with the actors, discoveries, solutions, problems, and ultimately, lights and shadows of a classical theater company in times of confinement.