Full Length, Comedy Characters: 9 male, 5 female, plus various minor roles, gypsies, and extras. 2 Interior Sets/2 Exterior Sets A brilliant and penetrating satire about an unemployed man who contemplates suicide and is besieged by spokespeople of discontented groups, from butchers to intellectuals, who want him to turn his suicide into a gesture on their behalf. Erdman's genius was recognized by his contemporaries including Brecht, Stanislavsky and Meyerhold. The latter two competed to do The Suicide. Stalin gave permission to present the play only after Gorki pleaded with him, but it was not allowed to open following a year of rehearsal. "A masterpiece...Lights up the sky." Guardian, London

Tirso de Molina's Jealous of Herself (c. 1622-23) is an ingenious comedy of disguise and deception, set in the streets, plazas and fashionable apartments of early 17th-century Madrid. Nearly forgotten for almost 400 years, the play is starting to gain attention today for its very modern perspective on male desire and the difficult situation placed on women who must live up to an ideal fantasy projected onto them. Much like another product of early 17th-century Spain, Miguel de Cervantes's world-famous novel Don Quixote , Jealous of Herself follows a lofty-minded man who worships an idealised image of a woman. It then shows us a world that gets turned upside down when other characters end up playing into this fantasy. Unlike Don Quixote, however, Jealous of Herself shifts its attention from the dreamer to the dreamed that is, to the individual trapped in and torn apart by this fantasy, the young woman, Dona Magdalena. Her internal conflict, the fact that she finds herself jealous of herself, ultimately becomes the axis of the play. Jealous of Herself is also a lively, wonderful piece of theatre. Written by a highly inventive playwright at a time when the Spanish theatre was at its peak, it has fascinating lead characters, verbal dexterity, rapid-fire wit and a strong sense of mood and place. Carefully structured, it builds relentlessly, climaxing with two great set-piece scenes that deserve to be on any list of great Renaissance-era stage moments. Until now, the play, whose Spanish title is La celosa de si misma , has been unavailable to English-language readers and audiences. This book is the first-ever English translation.

This bilingual edition presents Luis Vélez de Guevara’s 1613 play La Serrana de la Vera (The Mountain Girl from La Vera) for the first time ever in English translation. This long-forgotten tragedy has come back into focus in recent years because of its extraordinary protagonist, Gila, a peasant girl who calls herself a man, takes fierce pride in doing things men do, and falls in love with Queen Isabel. Her betrayal by an army captain who she has humiliated leads to lawlessness, violence and tragedy. Dramatized by the playwright as an heroic rebel, Gila has been variously described as feminist, homosexual, bisexual, lesbian, transsexual, hybrid, queer, and transgender. Highly relevant today, The Mountain Girl from La Vera is also a great piece of theatre, full of dramatic confrontations, colourful vignettes, striking moments of music and spectacle, and plentiful comic relief. This bilingual edition presents the entirety of the play, annotated, along with a Critical Introduction by the translator that contextualizes the work.

Full Length, Comedy Characters: 9 male, 5 female, plus various minor roles, gypsies, and extras. 2 Interior Sets/2 Exterior Sets A brilliant and penetrating satire about an unemployed man who contemplates suicide and is besieged by spokespeople of discontented groups, from butchers to intellectuals, who want him to turn his suicide into a gesture on their behalf. Erdman's genius was recognized by his contemporaries including Brecht, Stanislavsky and Meyerhold. The latter two competed to do The Suicide. Stalin gave permission to present the play only after Gorki pleaded with him, but it was not allowed to open following a year of rehearsal. "A masterpiece...Lights up the sky." Guardian, London

Tirso de Molina's Jealous of Herself (c. 1622-23) is an ingenious comedy of disguise and deception, set in the streets, plazas and fashionable apartments of early 17th-century Madrid. Nearly forgotten for almost 400 years, the play is starting to gain attention today for its very modern perspective on male desire and the difficult situation placed on women who must live up to an ideal fantasy projected onto them. Much like another product of early 17th-century Spain, Miguel de Cervantes's world-famous novel Don Quixote , Jealous of Herself follows a lofty-minded man who worships an idealised image of a woman. It then shows us a world that gets turned upside down when other characters end up playing into this fantasy. Unlike Don Quixote, however, Jealous of Herself shifts its attention from the dreamer to the dreamed that is, to the individual trapped in and torn apart by this fantasy, the young woman, Dona Magdalena. Her internal conflict, the fact that she finds herself jealous of herself, ultimately becomes the axis of the play. Jealous of Herself is also a lively, wonderful piece of theatre. Written by a highly inventive playwright at a time when the Spanish theatre was at its peak, it has fascinating lead characters, verbal dexterity, rapid-fire wit and a strong sense of mood and place. Carefully structured, it builds relentlessly, climaxing with two great set-piece scenes that deserve to be on any list of great Renaissance-era stage moments. Until now, the play, whose Spanish title is La celosa de si misma , has been unavailable to English-language readers and audiences. This book is the first-ever English translation.

This bilingual edition presents Luis Vélez de Guevara’s 1613 play La Serrana de la Vera (The Mountain Girl from La Vera) for the first time ever in English translation. This long-forgotten tragedy has come back into focus in recent years because of its extraordinary protagonist, Gila, a peasant girl who calls herself a man, takes fierce pride in doing things men do, and falls in love with Queen Isabel. Her betrayal by an army captain who she has humiliated leads to lawlessness, violence and tragedy. Dramatized by the playwright as an heroic rebel, Gila has been variously described as feminist, homosexual, bisexual, lesbian, transsexual, hybrid, queer, and transgender. Highly relevant today, The Mountain Girl from La Vera is also a great piece of theatre, full of dramatic confrontations, colourful vignettes, striking moments of music and spectacle, and plentiful comic relief. This bilingual edition presents the entirety of the play, annotated, along with a Critical Introduction by the translator that contextualizes the work.