The House of Bernardó Alba

Ériu’s production of ‘The House of Bernardó Alba’ brings contemporary Irish music, modern theatre and Irish dance to bear on Lorca’s original script. Drawing from shared historical and cultural links between Ireland and Spain, including the ways in which gender and domesticity were given meaning by a dominant Catholic political culture, Ériu explores the fertile ground for creative expression in the interstices of the two cultures. Using a Queer lens, the male players acquire some of the traditionally female roles to explore the play’s themes of subservience, coercive power and complicity through channelling their personal experiences from across the spectrum of human sexual and gender identity. Key aspects of Iberian dance culture are drawn upon to excavate shared modes of creative expression through dance.

"Ériu’s The House of Bernardó Alba is a mesmerizing journey through one family's secrets, jealousies, and pain – delivered through a dramatic blend of compelling text, complex Irish step dance rhythms, and intense contemporary movement. Choreographer Breandán de Gallaí is an alluring, larger than life, Bernardó, as he continues to carve innovative, new pathways for his unique vision of contemporary Irish step dance – mining the depths of his expertise in this highly virtuosic art form to display its emotional resonance."
Dr Darrah Carr, Director, Conservatory of Dance, Purchase College, USA