• In this episode, we explore the English text translation of House of Desires specifically created for the RSC performance in 2004.
• We ask our esteemed guests Dr. Catherine Boyle, translator of House of Desires, and Dr. Kathleen Jeffs, a dramaturg for the RSC’s Spanish Golden Age season, about their roles in creating this new performance text from page to stage.
• In 1683, Spanish playwright and nun Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz wrote House of Desires for a performance in Mexico, and it was officially published in 1692.
• There have been at least 8 Spanish language editions of the play over the last 100 years. However, the first English language version wasn’t created until 1997!
• In 2004, the RSC brought House of Desires to the modern stage during their Spanish Golden Age season, as it met their five criteria needed to be included in the season: Spanish Golden Age, a British premiere, not readily available in English, multiple roles for women, and a diversity of genre.
• From the rehearsal room to publication, this episode explores the ways in which translation transforms from page to stage and over time.
• If you’re looking for a 17th Century Spanish play written by a nun, which also happens to be newly available as an English language text – look no further than House of Desires by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, translated by Catherine Boyle.

Episode Transcript and Bibliography available here.

• We’ll begin by introducing Spanish Golden Age drama and how it differs from Elizabethan and Jacobean productions of the time including the themes of honor that “hang above the character’s heads.”
• We will then examine the styles of cloak and dagger plays and comedy of manners, as well as their subversion, in Sor Juana’s work
• Finally, we’ll consider honor as the invisible character in Sor Juana’s play and examine some contemporary analogues
  • Honor and class
  • Honor and Family
  • Sor Juana and The Princess Bride!

Episode Transcript and Bibliography available here.

• An introduction of Sor Juana, her childhood, and her family history
• Definition of New Mexico and its modern day equivalencies
• The translation and meaning of the title Los Empenos de una Casa and how the title affects the story
• Sor Juana’s friendship with the Viceroy and Vicereine of New Mexico and the celebration of the birth of their son.
• House of Desires and its colonial commentary
• The song and loa for the Viceroy’s son
• Conclusion and Farewells

Episode Transcript and Bibliography available here.