Divine Words is an adaptation of Ramón del Valle-Inclán’s play of the same name, which was written in between 1918 and 1920. Like the original, this performance is set in the of peasant community of San Clemente in Galicia, northern Spain. The adaptation by Fourth Monkey stays close to the plot of the original script by Valle-Inclán.
The play features a priest and his beautiful wife who adopt a disabled child in order to beg for keep. Their need to raise funds to improve their downtrodden situation leads the wife to abandon the village and her husband temporarily. During this trip she becomes an object of desire and encounters a young deviant who is especially taken by her. Subsequently, she is forced to make some moral choices surrounding her love life that have the young and impressionable priest’s wife torn.
Poverty is something that persists as a constant difficulty for the villagers. This was mirrored in having the actors remain on stage for their costume changes. As a technique, it served as a constant reminder that a play is not merely escapist entertainment, but rather has real-life implications that go beyond the stage. By not attempting to maintain the illusion of theatrical reality - i.e. by having costume changes happen off-stage - a political dimension was added to the production. This remarkable attention to detail was almost an homage to the original playwright’s intentions and values, as he was a firm believer in helping the poor.
The director evidently benefited from Del Inclan great script; he also had an overall strong cast behind him to convey the story. The cast delivered their lines with a degree of understanding that brought the play to life. The show also contains a host of strong individual performances; the priest’s wife, in particular, was highly touching. Some performances, however, shone brighter than others; at times the acting was less professional, making the play’s flow lag and more difficult to follow.
Finally, the costumes were also excellent. The peasants’ clothing, in particular, was very well designed and enhanced the overall atmosphere of the performance.
