Antonio Buero-Vallejo:  THE SLEEP OF REASON (El sueño de la razón).
    Translated by Marion Peter Holt.  1998.

Drama in 2 acts.  The protagonist of Buero-Vallejo's most widely performed play is the painter Goya at a point in life when he is totally deaf and covering the walls of his country house with the dark and phantasmagoric "Black Paintings."  These are seen as projections throughout the play.  The action takes place over a few days in December 1823 and culminates in a scene of stark violence played out in total silence.

The play has been translated into more than 15 languages.  The English version had its professional premiere at Baltimore's Center Stage in 1984 and has also been staged by the Wilma Theatre in Philadelphia (1986), the Loose Change Col. in London (1991), and the Bailiwick Repertory Co. in Chicago (1994).

• One set.
  15 men (can be performed effectively by 8 actors by doubling), 2 women

  World premiere:  Dir. José Osuna, Madrid, 1970.

  Contact author's and translator's agent:  Barbara Hogenson Agency, 165 West End Ave., New York NY 10023; Phone:  212-874-8084.

The Sleep of Reason. Wilma Theater, Philadelphia, 1986. Directed by Blanka Zizka.