Benet i Jornet's Salamandra: Twenty-eight scenes at sunset

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Notes

1. For more detailed information in English on the Drudània trilogy, other plays by Benet i Jornet, and the renewal of Catalan drama and performance, see Rodolf Sirera, ‘Drama and Society’, in David George and John London (eds), Contemporary Catalan Theatre: An Introduction (Sheffield: The Anglo-Catalan Society, 1996), pp. 43–71 (pp. 51–57).

2. ‘Història d'un text’, in Revolta de bruixes (València: L'ESTEL, 1991), p. 116.

3. Catalan director Ventura Pons filmed E.R. in 1997 as Actrius (Actresses) and Testament in 1999 as Amic/amat (Beloved/Friend), with screenplays by Benet i Jornet.

6. Babelia, cultural supplement of El País (5 November 2005).

4. ‘Un espejo intermitente’, La Vanguardia (15 October 2005).

5. ‘La memòria perduda’, Avui (15 October 2005).

7. The United States has its own equivalent of the wolpertinger in the jackalope, a fanciful creature that apparently had its origin among the cowboys of Wyoming.

8. Narrative or reflective monologues figure prominently in Benet's theatre. For an especially perceptive analysis of monologues in Desig, see Carles Batlle's ‘El darrer teatre de Benet i Jornet: un cicle’, in Josep M. Benet i Jornet i la fidelitat al teatre de text (Barcelona: Col-lecció Escolis 8, Eumo Editorial, 2001), pp. 94–101.

9. It is a scene of rejection reminiscent of the final moments of E.R., in which a young actress has sought the real identity of a deceased ‘presence’ and ultimately sets fire to the toy theatre that is the surviving symbol of that identity. In the final scene of the TNC production of Salamandra, the crumpled letter lies highlighted on the stage. Although not indicated in the stage directions, director Toni Casares's decision to leave the discarded letter visible seems totally appropriate.

10. Karen Armstrong, A Short History of Myth (Edinburgh, New York, Melbourne: Canongate, 2005), pp. 3–4.

11. Sharon G. Feldman, ‘La fragilitat del paisatge’, introduction to Salamandra, by Josep M. Benet i Jornet (Barcelona: Proa, 2005), pp. 13–31.

12. ‘Salamandra: un viatge cap a la identitat o la lliçó de la Història’, introduction to Salamandra by Josep M. Benet i Jornet, pp. 9–12.