The following interview with multidisciplinary artist Olga Diego was conducted during the installation of the inflatable plastic sculpture Metamorphosis at the University College Dublin (October 2025). Here, the artist explores the evolution of the piece and situates it within her broader artistic practice, which encompasses flight, participatory performance, gender exploration, ecological critique and the interplay between art and science. Speaking from inside the installation, Diego reflects on the piece’s origins in questions of otherness, its material and symbolic permeability and its ongoing physical transformation as both artwork and ecological commentary. The conversation traces recurring themes in her work, including identity, freedom, hybridity and the creation of imagined spaces that invite collective engagement and critical reflection.
Juan Mayorga has often introduced translators and interpreters in his plays as mediators in scenarios of societal trauma. This article considers how his plays express a theory of translation using the field of translation studies itself, relying on Susan Bassnett's Translation Studies (2014) and Andr & eacute; Lefevere's Translation, Rewriting, and the Manipulation of Literary Fame (1992), which postulate that translation is an ideological function that can manipulate language, thought and therefore reality. Mayorga's work on Walter Benjamin is well known, so it follows that Benjamin's thinking on translation has influenced him, as his plays codify Benjamin's conception of translation, expressed in The Translator's Task ([1923] 2002), as a blending of poetry and doctrine, which is able to leave an indelible mark on history. Likewise, Mayorga's plays have dealt with language and translation and how they can be a double-edged sword capable of poisoning or saving someone, as expressed in El golem (The Golem) (2022). The objective will be to discuss Mayorga's insertion of the figure of the translator into his plays and his depiction of the act of translation and the mark it leaves, in the sense that language
Review of: A revolução a que se pode ir de carro: Portugal, Espanha e os media (1974–1975) (‘The revolution you can get to by car: Portugal, Spain and the media [1974–1975]’), Rita Luís (2024), Lisbon: Instituto de Ciências Sociais, 206 pp., ISBN 978-9-72671-788-1, p/bk, EUR 13.50
Review of: D€mocrazy in Spain: Cinema and New Forms of Social Life (1968–2008) , Isabel M. Estrada (2024) Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 160 pp., ISBN 978-1-83553-689-6, h/bk, GBP 28 ISBN 978-1-83553-690-2, PDF, open access ISBN 978-1-83553-691-9, e-pub, GBP 28
Teatro de la Resistencia's ('Theatre of Resistance') play GRAD ('city'), first performed in Villarreal in 2020, initially appears to be a rather straightforward autobiographical production about two Bosnian refugees who emigrate to Spain following the Siege of Sarajevo (1992-96). As the play progresses, however, the veracity of the autobiographical sources is brought into question, and audience members are tasked with offering truth judgements about what occurs onstage. This article argues that GRAD offers a fruitful counterpoint to what Silvija Jestrovic has termed hyper-authenticity-a phenomenon that occurs when onstage marginalized subjects, such as refugees and exiles, are tasked with continuously proving their authenticity to the audience (2008). Through unreliable narration, the protagonists of GRAD establish the necessary conditions for the audience to reliably fail to discern between true and false testimony. Consequently, the phenomenon of hyper-authenticity fractures, and what takes its place instead is a collective viewing model that might be classed as that of the unreliable spectator.
This Special Issue stems from the Fifth Biennial Conference of the Iberian Theater and Performance Network (ITPN), 'Performing Without Limits' (London, 26-28 June 2024), and showcases current directions in Iberian theatre and performance studies. Grounded in ITPN's transhistorical and interdisciplinary ethos, the volume brings together scholarship on contemporary practices across Spain and their cultural and linguistic contexts. Framing 'limits' as both a critical problem and a productive lens, the contributions interrogate boundaries of representation, language, gender, sexuality, trauma, translation, authorship and spectatorship, while foregrounding the dialogue between textual analysis and performance practice. The articles examine feminist and anti-war dramaturgies, the dramaturgical function of translation, constructions of masculinity and precarity, and the ethical and epistemological challenges of autobiographical and testimonial theatre. Collectively, the issue reflects ITPN's commitment to practice-led research, interdisciplinarity and inclusivity, and positions Iberian performance as a dynamic field defined by permeability, experimentation and social engagement.
This article addresses the need to listen to the female voices that embody the trauma of conflict and exile in the underexplored area of Spain's civil-war-themed theatre by women. It does so by positing listening as an aesthetic, ethical and political practice. In Tras de la perdida gente ('In the wake those lost') (1986) co-authored by Carmen Conde and Amanda Junquera and La tumba de Antigona (Antigone's Tomb) by Maria Zambrano (1967), the playwrights highlight the need for attentive listening in texts that are predicated on the imperative of being aware of the depth of pain that conflict inflicts on the self and others. The article references Carolyn Birdsall and Elinor Carmi's feminist approach of 'listening in' to amplify silenced histories of women in theatre (2022). In addition to plays by Conde and Junquera, the article also considers how the recent productions, La tumba de Maria Zambrano ('Maria Zambrano's Tomb') (2018) by Nieves Rodriguez, and Paula Paz's El sill & oacute;n K: Cartas desde el olvido ('Chair K: Letters from Oblivion') (2025), project these writers' voices, together with the anti-war sentiment their plays convey, to twenty-first-century audiences.
This article examines the representation of male distress in contemporary Catalan theatre through Nerium Park by Josep M. Mir & oacute; and Breu introducci & oacute; al western (A Brief Introduction to Western) by Joan Yago. Both plays address the affective and social consequences of labour precarity within the context of neo-liberal capitalism, focusing on depression, isolation, violence and suicide as symptoms of the collapse of hegemonic masculinity. Taking an interdisciplinary approach that combines gender studies, affect theory and cultural criticism, the article argues that these plays not only give visibility to the suffering of bodies and subjects deemed disposable by the system but also challenge the individualist discourse that depoliticizes mental health. Theatre, thus, emerges as a space of denunciation and resistance, capable of articulating a critique of neo-liberalism as an affective regime and of urging us to imagine alternative forms of relationality, community and dignified life beyond the meritocratic ideal.
Review of: The Captains’ Coup: From Dictatorship to Democracy in Portugal (1974–1976) , Wilfred Burchett, Daniela F. Melo and Timothy D. Walker (eds) (2025) London and New York: Verso, 352 pp., ISBN 978-1-80429-836-7, GBP 25.00
Review of: Amália at the Olympia , Lila Ellen Gray (2023) New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 176 pp., ISBN 978-1-50134-619-4, p/bk, USD 22.95 ISBN 978-1-50134-620-0, h/bk, USD 80.00 ISBN 978-1-50134-621-7, e-pub, USD 20.65 ISBN 978-1-50134-622-4, pdf, USD 20.65
Review of: On Earth Or in Poems: The Many Lives of Al-Andalus , Eric Calderwood (2023) Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press, 360 pp., ISBN 978-0-67498-036-5, h/bk, GBP 37.95 ISBN 978-0-67429-297-0, e-book, GBP 37.95
Review of: Habitação Para Além Da ‘Crise’: Políticas, Conflito, Direito , Simone Tulumello (2024) Lisbon: Tigre de Papel, 252 pp., ISBN 978-9-89357-041-8, p/bk, GBP 13.00
Review of: ReFocus: The Films of JoÃo Pedro Rodrigues and JoÃo Rui Guerra da Mata, Filipa Rosário and José Duarte (eds) (2022) Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 218 pp., ISBN 978-1-47446-080-4, h/bk, £90 ISBN 978-1-47446-081-1, p/bk, £24.99
Mirandese, a minority language spoken in north-eastern Portugal, has undergone significant shifts in vitality over the past century. First brought to scholarly attention by Portuguese philologist Leite de Vasconcelos in the late nineteenth century, Mirandese descends from Astur-Leonese, a medieval Romance variety of the Iberian Peninsula. Historically, it survived in a stable diglossic framework alongside Portuguese and Spanish, serving specific communicative roles within small and close-knit communities. However, by the mid-twentieth century, social stigma and the pressure of Portuguese disrupted intergenerational transmission, pushing Mirandese to the brink of endangerment. In response, revitalization efforts emerged, including its introduction into local schools in the 1980s, the establishment of an orthographic norm and its recognition by the Portuguese Parliament in 1999. Despite its current endangered status, these measures have elevated the symbolic value of Mirandese, attracting new speakers (including descendants of the Mirandese diaspora), stimulating the expansion of its written corpus and increasing scholarly interest. This Special Issue ‘Mirandese Studies: Language, Literature, Landscape and Pedagogy’, an example of this interest, explores the linguistic identity and literary heritage of Mirandese, as well as its role in the linguistic landscape, and its pedagogical needs, emphasizing the importance of continued research and institutional support to ensure its survival and vitality in the future.
Science-fiction film is not among the most produced genres in Spain. However, in recent decades, some film productions have been released related to the sciencefiction genre, which have tried to be internationally competitive in order to achieve economic success. This article will analyse the case of Automata (2014), a film by Spanish director, Gabe Ib & aacute;& ntilde;ez, in the context of both Spanish and European science-fiction cinema. Its industrial strategies will be examined to highlight how Spanish science-fiction productions need to be international products to be competitive. In addition, Automata will be compared with other Spanish films, evaluating factors such as budget, box office earnings, locations, cast composition and other cultural elements. Thus, the diverse strategies carried out by producers of science-fiction films in Spain will be considered, as well as their different degrees of commercial success.
This article examines Smiley (2022), a Catalan-and Spanish-language LGBTQ+ romantic comedy on Netflix, as a critical intervention in debates over digital intimacies and platform-mediated relationships. As both romcoms and relationships themselves become increasingly platformized, the article analyses how the series visualizes the digital enclosure of dating through split-screen aesthetics and palimpsestic overlays, formally mirroring the fragmented, gamified nature of dating/hook-up apps like Grindr. Smiley dramatizes the affective labour and disorientation inherent in data-driven matchmaking, interrogating tensions between somatic and cyber-mediated intimacies. Reflecting broader trends towards physical, flesh-and-blood sex in Netflix romcoms, amid the post-romantic, heteropessimistic turn in screen productions, it balances queerer modes of interface design, digital affect and embodied sex with traditional genre discourses of the Soulmate and The One. While offering a nuanced critique of quantified, marketized love, Smiley's prioritization of corporeal, monogamous, (homo)normative connection over multiple, virtual encounters reveals both the constraints and possibilities of contemporary (LGBTQ+) courtship and social bonding.
The ubiquity of populist discourse in politics and across various sectors of contemporary Spanish society prompts an inquiry into the use of populism in current literature. Almudena Grandes's polyphonic novel Los besos en el pan (Kissing the Bread) (2015) offers a snapshot of the housing crisis in an ordinary neighbourhood of Madrid. This article will analyse the novel's discursive strategies in order to identify the defining features of what could be considered the use of populist techniques within it. It will also assess whether these techniques serve an anti-hegemonic function of denunciation or whether the populist discourse may, in some way, have become embedded in the narrative as a form of acquiescence to the new political normal.
This article reflects on the resurgence of racist, patriarchal and ethnonationalist ideologies in contemporary Spain and addresses some of the discursive practices and strategies employed by Spanish conservative and far-right political parties. It examines how Vox and related parties and associations have reactivated a handful of the necropolitical tropes and images that underpinned the Francoist apparatus of repression and repurposed them to suit their current purposes. Firstly, the analysis centres on the complex relationship between the Spanish authoritarian rightwing forces and the violent past of the twentieth century. It demonstrates how they have revived the propagandistic and historicist rhetoric of the Franco regime without explicitly embracing it. Next, the article offers a theoretical discussion on the violent impulses of the new far right, which currently unfold in a scenario of systemic crisis where the global capitalist order has aggravated the destructive techniques of power. Finally, the article analyses three ideological-cultural frameworks that exemplify the recurrence of the patriotic and bellicose fascist language of the Civil War and post-war era: the imaginary of the 'anti-Spain' or 'enemies of Spain', the medieval myth of the 'Reconquest' and the narrative of anti-communism. Overall, this article aims to expose the intersections between the ideological foundations of Francoist violence and those that inform the present far-right discourse in Spain.
This article presents a first comprehensive empirical account of the resident LGBTQ+ communities of Spanish Ceuta. The starting premise of the article is the interstitial character of Ceuta, which is evident not only in the city's geographic disconnection from mainland Spain and its land border with, and cultural connections to, Morocco, but also in the economic, cultural and religious diversity that mark its society and position it at the intersection of North Africa and Europe and the Global South and North more broadly. This article focuses on the extent to which the interstitial character of the enclave of Ceuta affects the local life experiences of its resident LGBTQ+ communities. It explores aspects of LGBTQ+ life, such as perceptions of anonymity, safety and well-being in the city, including experiences of homophobia, practices of, and attitudes towards, public displays of affection as well as out-migratory intentions.
