Information for Foreigners- Production History
After researching books, articles, the Internet (in both English and Spanish), I was completely unable to find any production history of this play because Information for Foreigners has never been performed outside of student productions or staged readings.
A footnote in the book, “Exorcising History: Argentine Theater Under Dictatorship” stated that Information for Foreigners has "never [been] staged in its entirety in keeping with the playwright's wishes" (Jones, p. 202). “Exorcising History” also had the production history of all of the plays produced in Argentina from the 1970s through the early 1990s. Gambaro's plays were included, but, Information for Foreigners was not listed. In her article which was written in 1980 and entitled, "Space and Spectator in the Theatre of Griselda Gambaro," Rosalea Postma states, "Gambaro's Información para extranjeros, written in the early 1970's and not yet performed or published, represents the coalescence of the dramatist's experimentation with the use of theatre as space..." (Postma, p.36).
In the introduction to Information For Foreigners, Maguerite Feitlowitz stated:
"Written in the period 1971-73, the play prophetically foretold an era of government-sponsored terrorism not only against persons whose activities were deemed subversive but also against those whose thoughts were grounds for kidnapping, torture, and death. Gambaro hid the play in her house, then smuggled it out when she fled into exile. For years, the play circulated in samizdat among theater people in Europe, but when companies offered productions, Gambaro refused permission, fearing repercussions against family members still in Argentina... [Information] was published in Buenos Aires in 1987 but it has not been produced there, nor are the prospects very good. It’s only performances have been at English language workshops and readings in the United States" (Gambaro, pp.5-6).
A footnote in the book, “Exorcising History: Argentine Theater Under Dictatorship” stated that Information for Foreigners has "never [been] staged in its entirety in keeping with the playwright's wishes" (Jones, p. 202). “Exorcising History” also had the production history of all of the plays produced in Argentina from the 1970s through the early 1990s. Gambaro's plays were included, but, Information for Foreigners was not listed. In her article which was written in 1980 and entitled, "Space and Spectator in the Theatre of Griselda Gambaro," Rosalea Postma states, "Gambaro's Información para extranjeros, written in the early 1970's and not yet performed or published, represents the coalescence of the dramatist's experimentation with the use of theatre as space..." (Postma, p.36).
In the introduction to Information For Foreigners, Maguerite Feitlowitz stated:
"Written in the period 1971-73, the play prophetically foretold an era of government-sponsored terrorism not only against persons whose activities were deemed subversive but also against those whose thoughts were grounds for kidnapping, torture, and death. Gambaro hid the play in her house, then smuggled it out when she fled into exile. For years, the play circulated in samizdat among theater people in Europe, but when companies offered productions, Gambaro refused permission, fearing repercussions against family members still in Argentina... [Information] was published in Buenos Aires in 1987 but it has not been produced there, nor are the prospects very good. It’s only performances have been at English language workshops and readings in the United States" (Gambaro, pp.5-6).
Gambaro, Griselda. Information for Foreigners: Three Plays by Griselda Gambaro. Ed. and trans. Marguerite Feitlowitz. Evanston: Northwester UP, 1992.
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