The unique experience of seeing Golden Age theater at the Corral de Comedias in Almagro, the only one that has been preserved intact, just as it was in the 17th century, and which remains in use today.

DON GIL DE LAS CALZAS VERDES

Corral de Comedias

August 27 – 8:30 p.m.

Don Gil de las Calzas Verdes is a classic of the Spanish Golden Age that continues to resonate powerfully in our time.

Written in the 17th century, this play is much more than a comedy of errors; it is a celebration of female wit and power—values that we need to recognize and champion on stage today more than ever.

THE GARDENER’S DOG

Corral de Comedias

August 28 – 8:30 p.m.

A story of blue blood, eroticism, and privilege—the privileges enjoyed by the aristocracy in the early 17th century. *El perro del hortelano*, a drama of love, envy, jealousy, and honor, was written in 1613 by the great playwright Lope de Vega.

Set in Naples, the play tells the story of Diana, Countess of Belfor. Diana is a beautiful and headstrong young woman who is pursued by several aristocratic suitors eager to marry her. However, Diana consistently rejects all their advances. One night, after seeing her secretary making love to her favorite lady-in-waiting, she falls madly in love with him and becomes consumed by jealousy.

This is the story of a love triangle, of forbidden love and betrayals, set during the time when Naples was under Spanish rule. Thus, the Countess’s household—manipulated by the nobles—represents that segment of Spanish society living abroad. Setting the action in this European city also allows the play to be filled with Italian influences and plots, which Lope was so fond of.

FESTIVAL

Corral de Comedias

August 29 – 8:30 p.m.

Dance: *Vuelen pajaritos*

Starring Fun, Love, Distrust, and other abstract personifications, *Vuelen pajaritos* transforms a children’s game into a raw metaphor for love and vulnerability. In the game—which involves raising one’s arms when something that can fly is named—mistakes and “forfeits” spark moral disputes. To make a mistake is not to fail, but to betray oneself.

Dance of the Poison of the Senses

In *Poison Dance of the Senses*, two women, united by their love for one another, journey together through a sensory and poetic space where love between women is lived freely, without rivalry. Suddenly, the performance is interrupted: the prompter has disappeared, and the dance script is blank. Left without a script, the protagonists improvise and take ownership of the words, transforming from performers into creators.

Dance of Comedy Titles

There is no linear plot: the appeal lies in the wit, the accumulation of theatrical allusions, and the festive nature of the finale. "Dance of the Comedy Titles" proposes a metatheatrical game in which the characters quote and run through famous titles of comedies from the era, paying homage to the repertoire and the bustle of the courtyards.

Dance of the Madrid Inns

This final “Dance,” orchestrated by the three directors, brings *Fiesta* to a close. “Dance of the Inns of Madrid” is a festive portrait of working-class Madrid that evokes taverns, guesthouses, and both public and secret inns, showcasing the bustle of travelers, students, soldiers, and diverse people who populate these spaces. With a touch of picaresque wit, it sketches a living map of the social diversity that intersects in the inns and sets the dances ablaze with exuberance.

BIZARRA

Corral de Comedias

August 29 – 10:45 p.m.

Bizarra summons the wild women of the Golden Age: the dissidents, the murderers, those who disobeyed and were therefore erased or distorted.

She is neither a heroine nor a victim. She is a woman torn asunder. A woman who has endured violence and can no longer turn back.

The classical word is twisted, reappropriated, used as a weapon. Not as literature, but as presence: body, sweat, breath. The past is not represented; it is activated. Through it, we breathe the present, drawing from those women who were a searing fissure in the world order.

Bizarra is disobedience. It is the justice of the soul. It is an everlasting struggle.

It is part of a ritual, of an incantation.

It is a body that opens a wound.

Bizarra is the price paid for insurrection.

Marta Poveda made her debut as a stage director in 2023 with *La francesa Laura*, an unpublished play by Lope de Vega produced by the Fundación Siglo de Oro, which premiered at the Teatros del Canal and has been performed at prestigious festivals such as Almagro and Olmedo, followed by an extensive tour throughout Spain to critical and popular acclaim.

In 2025, her work was recognized with the Teatro de Rojas Award for Best Stage Direction.

LA DAMA BOBA

Corral de Comedias

August 20 – 8:30 p.m.

*La dama boba*, completed on April 28, 1613, is a play belonging to the genre of comedies of intrigue that explores the recurring and oft-revisited comic interplay between love and reason, characteristic of both the Golden Age and its great author, Lope de Vega.

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