Synopsis of Some of the More Important Theatrical Plays

Of

Alfonso Paso

 

"COSAS DE PAPA Y MAMA"

(English Version Available)

Comedy
First Premiered in 1960
7 Characters. 4 Male, 3 Female.

A widow and a widowed meet at a doctor’s office, where they are to see a doctor because of several illnesses they are suffering. She is in her early fifties and he in his sixties. Actually it is only their loneliness and sadness, which is making them believe they are sick.
At the doctor’s office they fall in love and start a sweet romance to which, his son and her daughter terribly opposed. The doctor becomes the ally of this sweet couple encouraging the romance. He, the doctor, also serves as the narrator, making the audience see how important companionship and love is in our lives, no matter what age we are.

"EDUCANDO A UNA IDIOTA"

Comedy
First Premiered in 1965
7 Characters. 4 Male, 3 Female.
Eurrico is a movie producer, who has made his money creating actresses from people with no talent, in exchange for a sexual relationship.
Now he is with Lola, a very uncultured, rude and uneducated woman. Thanks to him, Lola has become one of the most famous actresses of Spain. With a new offer for her to portray Queen Isabel la Catolica on the big screen, Eurrico decides to hire a teacher to his star culture and make a lady out of her.
The change that Lola goes through is not as good as expected. All of this plus her love for the teacher makes the situation turn from bad to worse. It is a very funny play with lots of comedic plot twists.

"EN EL ESCORIAL, CARIÑO MIO"

Romantic Drama
First Night in 1968
4 Characters. 2 Male, 2 Female.

“En el Escorial, cariño mio” is a love story. It all happens in a hotel room in El Escorial, a beautiful village outside Madrid. The author plays with time and he mixes the present, past and future of a new wed couple. It shows what has happened and also what the characters possibly wanted to happen. What could have happened and maybe what could not be possible to have happened. It is a sweet, human and very simple love story.

"ENSEÑAR A UN SINVERGUENZA"

Comedy
First Premiered in 1967
5 Characters. 2 Male, 3 Female.

A modern version of Shakespeare’s play “The Taming of the Shrew”.
Rosana is a tyrannical daughter. Living with her parents and making life a nightmare for them, with her controlling nature. Although only in her late twenties, she adopts the attitude of an “Old Maid”. Her life revolves around her classes, books and repressions. She is a personal teacher of history and the French Languages.
But one day a new pupil shows up in her life. He has been recommended by one of her colleagues. This boy is a “Player”. a poker player and a person who personifies the lifestyle, “Viva La Vida”, live life “Today”. If he has money fine if not he will get enough somehow. What he is NOT going to be is a “9 to 5er”.
Even though he is the antipathy of everything Rosana stands for, after months of seeing his gusto for life, she begins falling in love with him, which changes her ways one hundred per cent. Likewise the “Player” begins to have feelings for her.
This play has the record of being on stage for 18 years in Spain, with the great Spanish actor Jose Rubio in the male lead.

"ESTA MONJA"

Tragic Comedy
First Night in 1968
3 Characters. 1 Male, 2 Female.

The play starts when Mercedes is about to leave her marriage. She finally has taken this resolution because of the continuous infidelities of her husband. He is a good, hard working man, but women are his weakness. Mercedes is a cold, hard woman, too deeply involved into women rights, into her careers and into making sure women become equal to men.
Tonight, the couple has called a convent to ask for the help of a nun to take care of Mercedes´s mother, who is sick. This nun will change the life of this couple. But, who is really this nun? What is she hiding? And even more, does she really exist?

"LA CORBATA"

Tragic comedy
First Night in 1963
15 Characters. 8 Male, 7 Female.

“La Corbata” explains the eternal fight of the middle class. The main point is how the pregnancy of a single daughter can affect the 3 social classes. The high class has no worries at all. Their money and social position can buy everything including the best and most exquisite wedding of all. There are no problems for the low class either, the poor. They have nothing to lose really since they have nothing to show and no social position, besides, a wedding is none of their worries. On the other hand, the middle class is, as always, the loser. They still have to keep their small social position and have to marry their daughter as fast as possible and with hardly any money and a lot of debts to be covered.
Although this play was written in 1963, it is still relevant today, since the problems that separate the 3 classes are still the same.

"LOS PALOMOS"

Black Comedy
First Night in 1964
9 Characters.

A couple goes for dinner to the house of his boss, trying to impress him and in this way obtain a better position in the business.
During the whole evening everything is a disaster, but the twist lies in the death of the boss’ Aunt, as a consequence of an innocent game he has proposed. But is she really dead?
Los Palomos is a hilarious comedy with a lot of extremely funny situations.

"LOS POBRECITOS"

Drama.
First Night in 1957.
12 Characters. 7 Male, 5 Female.

“Los Pobrecitos” happens in a boarding house, in which the owner is a mean woman that treats her boarders like animals, giving them everyday the same kind of cheap food and not turning the heat on. She accuses them continually of being nothing but losers who are the very lucky recipients of the compassion of a great lady who nothing has to do with them and allows them to live there for little money.
But one day, when almost all are about to be put in the streets since they are late with the rent payment, all of them start receiving some anonymous envelopes full of money. Who is really sending the money to these poor sweet people.

"NERON PASO"

Historical drama.
First Night in 1969
16 Characters. 12 Male, 4 Female.

Neron Paso is the version of the author on the life on the roman emperor Nero, and the main events that mark his life, including the famous burning of Rome.
The author portrayed Nero on this play.

"NOS VENDEN EL PISO"

Drama
First Night in 1964
13 Characters. 7 Male, 6 Females.

12 families live in a block of flat in the oldest area of Madrid. The building itself is almost set for demolition. Although it has no luxuries and it is old, for these 12 families the building holds their memories, their love, and their whole life.
One day they received notification that the whole city block is going to be torn down since a new big department store is going to be built. The owners of the store are offering all the neighbours in the area a better home and money compensation. All the neighbours of the area have agreed to sign the deal, all except this block of flats. These 12 families decided to fight against the powers, refusing to sign the deal and defending to the end their homes and what this building means to them.

"UN 30 DE FEBRERO"

Comedy.
First Night in 1963.
9 Characters.

A girl born in a village of Spain, decides to move to the capital to make better money. She works as a prostitute and makes good money part of which she send to the parents, to whom she has told she is working as a secretary and studying a career, and that she is sharing a flat with several other girls from University. For years she has been able to keep the lies well, but everything changes when one day the parents decide to visit her in the capital.
Almost at the same time, she meets a doctor to whom she falls in desperate love and to who, also for a while, she is able to lie about her real life.
The doctor and the arrival of the parents make the life of this sweet prostitute an absolute chaos, from which she has to get out but cannot see a proper way-out.

"USTED PUEDE SER UN ASESINO"

Detective Comedy
First Premiered in 1958.
9 Characters. 6 Male, 3 Female.

Two friends decide to spend a lovely weekend with the company of two girls of dubious character. So the have sent their wives to the summerhouse.
But everything gets very complicated when, one dead body after another begin to show up in their living room. On top of that, the wives realize halfway there, that they have forgotten the keys of the summerhouse and have no other choice but to come back to the apartment to pick them up.
This is a perfect detective’s play. An extremely well built plot perfectly tied up and with an exquisitely timed black humour.

"VAMOS A CONTAR MENTIRAS"

Comedy
First Premiered in 1962
8 Characters. 5 Male, 3 Female.

Julia is a woman that spends her days telling lies, which she claims to be the result of her monotony and boredom. She creates continuously wrong situations, that have made life a nightmare for her husband and for all the people that get invariably become involved in her fantasies though no fault of their own.
One Christmas Eve, a thief gets into the house with the help of the maid, his girlfriend. Their intention is to steal all the jewels and money and escape with all the loot together. After an argument the boyfriend hits the maid harder than he thought killing her in the act. Julia later is confronted by the thief who promised to kill her as well if she doesn’t help him to get out of the house with the jewels, the money and the dead body.
To avoid her own death she has to avoid at all costs that her husband and his best friend will find out all that is happening. But, since she is a well-known liar, who is going to believe her extreme and inexplicable explanations of situations?
This is one of the funniest plays of Paso and the most produced worldwide.

 

Copyright Almudena Paso 2006