''¡Ay, Carmela!'' is a play by

José Sanchis Sinisterra José Sanchis Sinisterra (born June 28, 1940) is a Spanish playwright and theatre director. He was born in Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of ...

, set in the opening months of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, which premiered 5 November 1987 in

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

under José Luis Gómez, who also played Paulino. Heavily allegorical, it tells the story of travelling players, Carmela and Paulino, who blunder into the wrong place at the wrong time. A film of the same name — '' ¡Ay, Carmela!'' — was released in 1990. The play takes its name from a popular Spanish Civil war song '' Ay Carmela''. Originally written in Spanish, it toured in 2006 in the UK in English.

Scripts

*''Ñaque, ¡Ay, Carmela!'' by

(Spanish, paperback), Ediciones Catedra, 1991. *''Ay, Carmela!'' by

, trans. John London (English, paperback), New Theatre Publications, 2003.

US premiere, Gala Theater, Washington DC, Sep 15 - Oct 9, 2011

Gala Theater, Washington DC, Sep 15 - Oct 9, 2011 GALA Hispanic Theatre presents ''¡Ay, Carmela!''
* ttp://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/41511/ay-carmela-at-gala-hispanic-theatre-reviewed-the-life-and/ The life and death of a Spanish dancerbr>''¡Ay, Carmela!'' se estrena en Washington dirigida por José Luis ArellanoLove and war at Gala

References

1990 plays Spanish plays Spanish Civil War in popular culture {{1990s-play-stub