Blood Wedding

Moonface & I went to the theatre the other night, to see a youth production of Blood Wedding, originally Bodas de Sangre by Lorca, as translated by Ted Hughes. We were persuaded to go by one of the actors' fathers, whom I met in the street a couple of days beforehand. I'm pleased we made the effort. As we often find at the theatre, it took a while to understand the conventions of the scenery and to determine who the characters represented before I could immerse myself in the play, but once I did so, I was hooked.

With a couple of exceptions, the cast was believable and consistent; the props were used wisely and appropriately, and the storytelling worked well.

The drama of the story is predicated upon family feuds held over many generations. Although the story was based upon a C20th event, the principle of the feud seems to have been a feature of Mediterranean culture for centuries: after all, it's the background to Romeo & Juliet, components of Homer and legends beyond.

Is it an exclusively Mediterranean idea, this intense sexual jealousy and familial pride? There don't seem to be stories from northern Europe with a similar motive; instead we have individual emnities which change with personal allegiances from generation to generation. The pathological ideal of fidelity and honour doesn't seem to be such a feature in the north, either. Perhaps this accounts for the cheerful promiscuity of British women throughout history, going back to Saxon times.

Alternatively, perhaps, it's the miserable sang-froid of the British (English?) which means that their blood never boils, their tempers remain even, and that our emotional lives remain as tepid and unexciting as our climate.

I wish.

:o)