Lorca's play was probably written in 1935, but remained unpublished until 1978; it received its Spanish-language première in 1989 at the Teatro María Guerrero in Madrid, in a production directed by Lluís Pasqual.
[2] Gwynne Edwards, the English-language translator of the play, argues that it differs in important respects from many of Lorca's other works, insofar as it attempts a series of transgressions of the traditional boundary separating stage from auditorium.
"[3] Lorca's experiments in this direction echo the work of Pirandello (whose Six Characters in Search of an Author (1921) attempted to stage a similar transgression), though Lorca develops the effect in a far more politically orientated, almost Brechtian direction.
In 2014 the Liberal Arts College Theatre Society (LACTS) adapted Lorca's play to Montréal's unique political setting.
[4] Under the direction of Alex Enescu and co-direction of Ryan Tellier the production was voted as the #1 play of 2014 by the prestigious Cult(ure) Montréal magazine.