Playwright Barney Norris talks new contemporary adaptation of Lorca’s ‘Blood Wedding’: “The words alone aren’t a translation, it’s everything in the show”

Following the success of his last play starring Asa Butterfield, Norris lands his latest creation on the stage of the Omnibus Theatre – transforming Lorca’s turn-of-the-century drama into a dark comedy set in modern-day England. Guillermo Nazara chats with the author, to learn more about the development of the piece and what prompted him to marry the idea.

How does it feel to be bringing such a major classic back to the London stage?

It’s such a privilege to be associated with this story! My version is very free, a Wiltshire response that takes the story a long way from Lorca’s original, but I think what absolutely survives is a sense of Lorca’s power as a dramatist. The elemental, tectonic undertow of the plot is amazing to feel, I think, and I learned a lot by getting to spend time with it.

Why Lorca among any other great international playwrights?

I liked Lorca’s connection with working people and the land and myth. I liked this specific story, and knew it had been influenced by some of my favourite Irish plays; I felt I had some personal emotional access to the story. I’d just adapted Ishiguro for the stage when I started this, and I wanted to work on adapting a classic play rather than a novel next, to test and extend my range. And I have GCSE Spanish, so I was able to look at the original, albeit haltingly!

Where do you think Lorca’s universality lies?

I think he understood longing very, very well. And he could plot! Plot is universal, we all feel the dramatic tension of intention and obstacle – it’s why TV is so international. 

How did the idea for this version come about?

It grew out of an improvisation at LAMDA; the company we were working with performed the whole play with no dialogue, and I started imagining my own Wiltshire words over the top of it. 

As the other great Lorca dramas, the play offers a critical view on the Spanish society of the time. How do you translate that into a modern-day take set in England?

I think it’s happened quite naturally; he had such a strong sense of social justice, and that perhaps mapped very easily onto contemporary morality. It’s really just another element of translation: the words alone aren’t a translation, it’s everything in the show.

This new version also departs from the style of the original, adopting a darker humourous tone. What’s the reason behind this approach?

Lorca had this idea of his work being powered by the duende – the spirit of the soil that rose up through the soles of the feet into the heart, which I loved. And it occurred to me that the English duende could very well be said to take the form of comedy, of laughter; that laughter is central to the expression of the spirit of the places I’ve lived in England.

How challenging has it been to readapt the play?

All acts of writing that are worthwhile take me to the outer limits of what I’m capable of (which is sometimes not far enough!), and this was certainly one of those. It was hard! It took a huge amount of thinking. But then, it was also a pleasure because the plot is such an engine, so that helped.

Have you found any other creative challenges throughout its development?

I think because I didn’t write the original story, there is a room within the play that I can’t ever enter into – the play will always have a secret it keeps from me as to why it happens. I can only THINK I know why it happens, but Lorca will never confirm or deny!

Apart from its updated setting, what makes this production of ‘Blood Wedding’ unique in comparison to previous versions?

I’m not aware of anyone using Blood Wedding to write and interrogate English mythology before, so I think it’s a story being used in a fresh way; to look at us, rather than a world far from us.

Are there any highlights in the show you’d like to flag?

Oh, there’s a lot! I think this production is really well acted, and I find the sequence before the storm breaks (I don’t mean a literal storm, more of an emotional explosion) is really agonizing to watch, in a good way. 

Why come see ‘Blood Wedding’?

I think it’s a beautifully acted English myth about the way that love defines our life. Ordinary people revealed as extraordinary. And actually pretty funny, and pretty emotional at the end. It strikes me as a great night at the theatre!

Production pictures credit to Phil Gammon.

Blood Wedding plays at London’s Omnibus Theatre until 24 May. Tickets are available on the following link.

By Guillermo Nazara