I, Mother: Strategies of (Auto) representation of Maternity in Contemporary Catalan Theatre

Abstract

This article explores a set of plays written by women that premiered on Catalan stages over the last few years, which address maternity as an explicit theme from a critical perspective. The corpus presented is symptomatic of the effects that the progressive inclusion of women in creative roles and the impact of feminism have had on Catalan theatre, and is a potentially destabilising factor in the generally marked distribution between creation and reproduction. The analysis explores how, through texts and paratexts, the plays reflect both the desire to transfer maternity to the stage and the negotiation with a potentially (de)legitimising reception for reasons of gender and theatrical context.

The following plays are analysed: Llibert (2013) by Gemma Brió, Santa nit, una història de Nadal (2014) by Cristina Genebat, Conillet (2015) by Marta Galán, Fes-me una perduda (2017) by Mercè Sarrias, La noia de la làmpada (2017) by Marta Aran, Converses amb el meu úter i altres interlocutors (2019) by Núria Planes Llull and, particularly in depth, Una gossa en un descampat (2018) by Clàudia Cedó.