A prince chained in a mountain. A young woman disguised as a man in search of vengeance. Revolution, love, murder – but is the real truly real, or is it all just a dream? As one of Spanish dramatist Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s best-known and most studied works, Life is a Dream was listed as one of the 40 greatest plays of all time in The Independent.
Created by director Declan Donnellan and designer Nick Ormerod, this is Cheek by Jowl’s first Spanish-language production, performed by an ensemble of Spanish actors. This acclaimed company is an Artistic Associate of the Barbican.
Presented by the Barbican.
Co-produced by Cheek by Jowl, Compañía Nacional de Teatro Clásico (CNTC Madrid) and LAZONA; in collaboration with the Barbican, London and Scène Nationale d’ALBI•Tarn, France.
Barbican presentation generously supported by The Polonsky Foundation.
Cheek by Jowl is very grateful to the Embassy of Spain in London for their kind support of La Vida es Sueño and also to Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) and to the Instituto Cervantes London.
Image credit: Javier Naval
