Una “mesa de trucos” en escena: Metamorfosis dramática de “La española inglesa”

In 2013 director Miguel Cubero premiered a theatrical adaptation of Cervantes’s exemplary story “La española inglesa” at the Almagro Festival and succeeded in bringing the essence of its byzantine plot to the stage. Nevertheless, thanks to an innovative and creative script and mise-en-scène, Cubero not only translated Cervantes’s novella for the theater, but also expanded it, thus gaining insight into the lives of its characters through an exploration of their motivations and the worlds they experience. In other words, this new take on adapting “La española inglesa” surpasses a mere archeological production by infusing psychological depth into a byzantine world which loses its fairy-tale quality but gains a true-to-life dimension much more relevant to modern-day audiences.