La vida es sueño Reimagined: Inversion, Mimicry, and Communitas in Teatro Inverso’s Rosaura (2018)

Abstract

Abstract In Rosaura, Teatro Inverso revisits Calderón’s La vida es sueño as an arena of contention in which women struggle against men for control of their lives. Directors Sandra Arpa and Paula Rodríguez call into question systems of male privilege operant in the play and foreground the self-actualization process of their protagonist. To this end, they invert outcomes that consolidate male power in the original text by replacing key points in Segismundo’s trajectory with similarly pivotal moments in Rosaura’s development. In addition, they satirize phallocentrism through mimicry of the instruments, language, and gestures of male privilege. Throughout the action, the actors create a sense of community and inclusiveness by engaging their audience, humanizing themselves, and dispelling any illusions of absolute truth and authority, unlike the male characters contending for the throne in Calderón’s classic.