TEHRAN – Nofel Loshato Theater in Tehran will host the stage reading of the 1936 play “The House of Bernarda Alba” written by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca on January 3, 2026.

Morteza Sabahi has directed and produced the one-hour performance, which will be read by Elaheh Razi, Erfaneh Golchinmehr, Pardis Khorasani, Maryam Mahali, Sahar Ardeshirpour, Shahrzad Nasseri, Hasti Afzali, Nastaran Davoudi, Leila Nematollahi, Anita Rezaei, Nesa Amini, and Nazanin Zahra Khorasani, ILNA reported. 

A three-act tragedy, “The House of Bernarda Alba” was García Lorca's last play, completed in June 1936, two months before his assassination during the Spanish Civil War.

The play tells the story of a repressive and domineering widow who forces her five unmarried daughters to remain in mourning for their father, sequestered with her on the family estate, for eight years. Frustrated and angry, the women respond in their individual ways to their mother’s cruelty, and the play ends in violence.

The play centers on the events of a house in Andalusia during a period of mourning, in which Bernarda Alba (aged 60) wields total control over her five daughters, Angustias (39 years old), Magdalena (30), Amelia (27), Martirio (24), and Adela (20). The housekeeper (Poncia) and Bernarda's elderly mother (María Josefa) also live there.

The deliberate exclusion of any male character from the action helps build up the high level of tension that is present throughout the play. Pepe “el Romano,” the love interest of Bernarda's daughters and suitor of Angustias, never appears on stage. The play explores themes of repression, passion, and conformity, and examines the effects of men upon women.

Federico García Lorca (1898 – 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a group consisting mostly of poets who introduced the tenets of European movements (such as symbolism, futurism, and surrealism) into Spanish literature.

He is best known for the plays “Blood Wedding” (1932), “Yerma” (1934), and “The House of Bernarda Alba” (1936).

Nofel Loshato Theater is located at No. 18, Razi St., Nofel Loshato St., Hafez Ave.

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