Ay Federico!
15 September 2006 6pm (Free event)
Written by Bernard Adams Directed by John Terry
When Federico García Lorca met Salvador Dalí at the University Residencia in Madrid, there was an instant attraction. It was 1922 and Dalí was barely out of his teens. He wore gaiters, long hair and had all the insecurities of a youthful genius. Lorca was already the established star – poet, performer, musician, artist. He fell for the young Catalan painter quickly discovering his originality and promise. They grew close, they became in Dali’s phrase: ‘twin souls’, but Lorca wanted something more. What happened next was complicated by the presence of a third party, the macho student from Aragon, Luis Buñuel. ¡Ay Federico! tells the story of the poet, the painter and the film maker struggling to express themselves against the darkening political background of 1930s Spain. But it is primarily a portrait of Federico, of the man behind the much mythologized poet and playwright. It shows his naivety, his childishness, his arrogance and his vulnerability – as well as the micro-climate of humour and vitality which he brought to every social encounter.
Bernard Adams studied Spanish at Trinity College, Dublin, worked in the BBC as a television producer and is now a freelance writer and journalist. He wrote a biography of the Irish dramaturist and war correspondent Denis Johnstone. He is currently working on adaptations of the two Forsyte Saga novels.
John Terry’s professional debut was the UK premiere of the Hungarian hit play Unsent Letters at the Orange Tree Theatre, where he also directed Don Taylor’s The Road to the Sea and a school’s tour of King Lear. As well as directing or co-directing all previous Shapeshifter work, he has directed productions at The Southwark Playhouse, The Croydon Clocktower and National Tours. He has directed readings and workshops of new work at The National Theatre Studio, The Royal Court, The Hampstead Theatre and The Etcetera. He is a member of the 2005 National Theatre Studio Directors Programme, and also works in the fields of lighting design and stage management, and extensively as an Assistant Director. John was awarded a First Class with Distinction honours from the University of East Anglia for an undergraduate degree in English and Drama. He has been director on all previous theatre and film Shapeshifter Projects. He is currently directing King Arthur for the Arcola Theatre this autumn.
