2020 has proven to be one of the most challenging years for the Cervantes Theatre and for the whole industry in general, but we have been working relentlessly to keep bringing you the best Spanish and Latin American theatre. This is why we decided to launch the Autumn Season as a series of online dramatised readings. The plays are translated, rehearsed in 2 days, filmed in 1 day and then streamed online for free so that you can watch them from the comfort of your home. The aim is to keep connecting with you all until we can safely reopen the doors of our theatre for public performances.

The Cervantes Theatre is a registered charity, and any donation or subscription towards our Friends Scheme will ensure that our theatre stays open after this crisis has passed.

Thank you for your support and we can’t wait to welcome you back to the Cervantes Theatre soon.

SEEING THROUGH LOVE

by María Zayas (version of Nando López)

Translated by Catherine Boyle

Seville, 1647.

These are the two conditions: a test every month within the deadline of a year.

Nise, a lady renowned for her poetry and her beauty, demands these conditions from anyone who claims her hand. Only Octavio, a determined and stubborn young man, has been able to get to the last day of the last month unscathed. Neither of them imagine that their past, embodied in their two best friends, Beatrice and Manuel, will suddenly burst into their lives and force them to share secrets, desires and even a murky murder in the middle of a night. Their whole future depends on whether they know how to play their cards right.

A comedy written by Nando López based on the novel Seeing Through Love by María de Zayas. Nando López reclaims the modernity, the critical sense and the style of the great Baroque author.

Nando López

He was born in Barcelona in 1977. He is a novelist, playwright and Doctor Cum Laude in Hispanic Philology. Considered as “one of the most outstanding voices of his generation” (ABC Cultural), he was a finalist for the 2010 Nadal Award with La edad de la ira and in his narrative career the following stand out: Cuando todo era fácil, El sonido de los cuerpos and La inmortalidad del cangrejo, as well as titles for young adult audiences such as El reino de las Tres Lunas o Los nombres del fuego.

As a playwright, his works include #malditos16 (a co-production by the National Dramatic Center that is a candidate for the 2017 Max Award for Best New Authorship), Los amores diversos, Tour de force, Cuando fuimos dos, De mutuo desacuerdo o La edad de la ira, based freely in his own novel.

He also teaches Secondary and Baccalaureate students, as well as postgraduate, on the Master of Dramatic Writing of the AAT.

He has premiered and published works internationally and in all kind of venues: alternative, commercial, public, etc.

He is the author of versions such as Las harpías en Madrid, (XXXIX Almagro International Theatre Festival) and adaptations such as those of Yerma (2015), by Lorca (Helen Hayes 2015 Award for Best Theatre Show) or Don Juan Tenorio (2017) , by José Zorrilla, both premiered at the Gala Theatre in Washington.

CERVANTES THEATRE TEAM

Artistic Director Jorge de Juan

Associate Director Paula Paz

House Manager Puerto Baker

Production Manager Santiago Cabrero

Graphic Design José Luis Hidalgo