Life is a Dream. It is a show about reality and consciousness, about how much we can trust our senses, about authority and domination, about loyalty and strength. It is a disaster waiting to happen, a hero’s quest, and a love story (that ends in an unusual way).
In its original version, it is also a 17th century play by Pedro Calderón de la Barca(1600-1681) That play is grounded in the context of the Reformation, the Counter-Reformation, the 30 Years War, the Spanish Bourbons and and many other ideas that stand distant to our time.
So we adapted it. Moved it to modern Ireland. Changed the castle to a high-tech startup. Reversed the migration so that it moved from Poland to Western Europe rather than the other way around. Turned the tortuous prison into a drug regime. But we kept the love story just as it was written. Mostly. And the initial scene in the pouring rain. It’s set in Ireland, afterall.
So here is Calderón’s metaphysical insight filtered through modern eyes. We suspect he would be appalled. But he might have seen things differently if he had been born at the start of the 21st century rather than a half-millennia before.
What is life? ’Tis but a madness.
What is life? A mere illusion,
Fleeting pleasure, fond delusion,
Short-lived joy, that ends in sadness,
Whose most constant substance seems
But the dream of other dreams.Pedro Calderón de la Barca
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
