You are here:
- Authors, Plays & Translators
- Play index
- Los buenos días perdidos
- Staging information
Los buenos días perdidos (1969-1972), Antonio Gala Velasco
- Scene
The play is divided up differently depending on the edition. The 1973 version is subtitled ‘Drama in three acts’.
The 1987 edition carries the subtitle ‘Spanish Story in Two Parts Divided up into Four Scenes’. On the Out of the Wings website, we will be referring to this latter structure.
- Act 1 scene 1 begins with Lorenzo’s arrival in the Chapel of Saint Thomas and ends after his first encounter with Consuelito and Hortensia.
- Act 1 scene 2 begins with the sight of Cleofás shaving Don Jenaro and ends as Lorenzo showers Consuelito with kisses.
- Act 2 scene 1 begins with Lorenzo now seated in the barber’s chair and ends with the revelation that Consuelito is pregnant.
- Act 2 scene 2 begins with Consuelito and Cleofás distractedly talking at cross-purposes and ends with the tragedy of Consuelito jumping from the bell tower, probably deliberately.
Gala, Antonio. 1973. Los buenos días perdidos: comedia en tres actos. Madrid, Escelicer (in Spanish)
Gala, Antonio. 1987. Los buenos días perdidos. Anillos para una dama, ed. Andrés Amorós. Madrid, Editorial Castalia (in Spanish)
- Staging
The Chapel of Saint Thomas
Los buenos días perdidos (The Bells of Orleans) takes place in the ancient Chapel of Saint Thomas which has been crudely converted into a living area, described in detailed stage directions. The home is furnished modestly and in poor taste, with tables and chairs made from cheap plastic. There is a sofa bed, a wicker chair and a trunk in the main living area. A small cage houses Consuelito’s goldfinch. There is also a tombstone set in the wall. Modern appliances are scattered about, sitting incongruously in the ancient surroundings of the chapel.
- To the left of the stage a doorway leads off to two bedrooms.
- At the front to the left the first steps of the stairwell to the bell tower are visible.
- To the right of the stage a door leads to the main body of the chapel.
- At the back of the stage a rudimentary arch leads to the street. In addition, there is a makeshift barbers’ room, complete with a revolving chair, shelves and a mirror. There is also a door leading to a bathroom. At the left hand corner at the back of the stage sits a small kitchen, separated from the rest of the living quarters by a curtain.
The stage directions state that merely the sight of these living quarters should be enough to set the audience’s teeth on edge.
Other General Staging Requirements
Consuelito’s main occupation throughout much of the early part of the play is to put silver frosting on little cardboard stars. Her hair has been half-silvered through her endeavours.
Near the end of act 1 scene 1 Hortensia enters carrying one of the Stations of the Cross, representing one of the three falls of Christ.
In act 2 scene 1 Lorenzo removes a medium-sized bell from the bell tower. He opens Doña Leonor’s tomb using a crowbar and hammer. Once the tomb is opened, a mummy falls out of it. Here, Lorenzo also finds a book with a little note that falls out of it.
Costumes
- Cleofás first appears in act 1 scene 2 dressed in a barber’s smock. Later, in act 2, he puts on his cassock.
- Lorenzo wears a guard’s uniform.
- In act 2 scene 1 Consuelito appears wearing a Middle Eastern costume with an enormous purple turban on her head.
- In act 2 scene 1 Hortensia appears in 1930s evening costume with a long cigarette holder in her hand. At another point in this scene she flirtatiously puts on a veil.
- Music
At the beginning of the play Consuelito sings a crude popular song, ‘A la Mariblanca la pillao el toro’. This is a variation on a song which the audience of the time would have recognised, just as they would the Angelus bell played straight after Consuelito has sung it. Gala notes that the mix of popular and religious music in the play had a destabilising effect on audiences (Gala 1987: 40).
Throughout the play the bells of the bell tower are rung.
In act 2 scene 1 Hortensia complains about the noise from a nearby cinema. As she does so, the soundtrack of a Western is heard momentarily.
- Cast number
-
Minimum Maximum 3 males 4 males 2 females 2 females 5 (total) 6 (total) - Cast information
- Don Jenaro appears on stage but does not speak. Don Remigio does not appear but his voice is heard.
- Characters
- HORTENSIA
- CONSUELITO
- CLEOFÁS
- LORENZO
- DON JENARO (non-speaking part)
- DON REMIGIO (voice only, doesn’t appear)
Entry written by Gwynneth Dowling. Last updated on 13 November 2010.
