Griselda Gambaro Information For Foreigners Pdf 13
Griselda Gambaro Information For Foreigners Pdf 13
Griselda Gambaro is one of Latin America's most important and prolific writers, who has focused on the dynamics of repression, complicity, and violence in her works. She is best known for her plays, which often challenge the boundaries between reality and fiction, and confront the audience with disturbing scenarios of power and resistance. One of her most acclaimed and controversial plays is Information for Foreigners, which was first performed in Buenos Aires in 1972, during the height of the military dictatorship.
Information for Foreigners is not a conventional play, but a theatrical experience that breaks the fourth wall and involves the spectators in a labyrinthine journey through different rooms of a building, where they witness scenes of torture, humiliation, and absurdity. The play is divided into 19 scenes, which are performed simultaneously and repeated several times, so that each spectator can only see a fraction of the whole. The scenes are loosely based on historical events and testimonies of human rights violations in Argentina and other countries. The play also includes a meta-theatrical scene, where a group of actors rehearse a play about Antigone, the Greek heroine who defied the tyrant Creon to bury her brother.
Griselda Gambaro Information For Foreigners Pdf 13
The play's title, Information for Foreigners, is ironic and provocative, as it suggests that the spectators are outsiders who need to be informed about the reality of oppression and violence in Argentina. However, the play does not offer any clear or coherent information, but rather exposes the spectators to a series of shocking and contradictory images that challenge their perception and understanding. The play also questions the role of theater and art in a society ruled by terror and censorship, and explores the possibilities and limits of resistance and solidarity.
Information for Foreigners has been translated into several languages and performed in many countries, often adapting the scenes to reflect the local context and history. In 1992, Northwestern University Press published an English translation of the play by Marguerite Feitlowitz, along with two other plays by Gambaro: The Walls and Antigona Furiosa. The translation is available online as a PDF file, which contains 175 pages. The PDF file also includes an introduction by Feitlowitz, a bibliography, and notes on the translation.
Griselda Gambaro's Information for Foreigners is a powerful and innovative play that challenges the spectators to confront the reality of state violence and human rights abuses, and to reflect on their own position and responsibility as witnesses. The play is also a testament to Gambaro's courage and creativity as a writer who dared to defy the dictatorship and create a new form of theater that engages the audience in a critical dialogue.