Carol Rifelj Faculty Lecture Series: "In Extremis: The Theatre of Griselda Gambaro"

Cláudio Medeiros, Theatre Department, and Maria Alessandra Woolson, Romance Languages & Linguistics, University of Vermont

Why do we, as contemporary societies, continue to engage with oppressive systems of power, when history has demonstrated their enduring capacity for cruelty and destruction?  That is a central question in the work of Argentinian playwright Griselda Gambaro. Professors Maria Alessandra Woolson (University of Vermont) and Cláudio Medeiros (Middlebury College) have recently finished translating three of her plays.In “A Little Understanding Will Do,” “Relentless,” and “Mrs. Macbeth,” Gambaro challenges us to confront the dehumanizing legacy of colonialism, the toll of systemic violence on human nature, and the ongoing oppression of women under patriarchy. By presenting humanity “in extremis,” Gambaro’s theatre serves as a powerful tool for engaging the turbulent times we are living, both globally and in the United States.

In this lecture, Woolson and Medeiros will introduce Gambaro’s work, discuss their methodological approach to translating the playwright’s insistently polysemic and highly theatrical language, and demonstrate some of those challenges in a performance of a scene from one of the plays.

Vaccinations and masks required.