The play is divided into two parts. Part One has a prologue and two scenes. Part Two has two scenes.
The stage directions outline the location of each scene:
Part One
- Prologue: In the corner of a local park
- Scene 1: In a comfortable old house
- Scene 2: In a poor house with two rooms
Part Two
- Scene 1: In the same poor house with two rooms
- Scene 2: A dirty bedroom that smells of sin
General staging
The action is described as taking place in a city ‘where gossip is everywhere and ears are stupid’. It is set in an era ‘of gossip’, at an undefined time.
There are four main locations in the play: the park; Joaquina’s comfortable house; Concha’s impoverished house; and the small bedroom at the end. The playwright suggests that the stage be divided into three parts at different heights so that there is no need for slow scene changes. The interior of Joaquina’s house should occupy the highest section of the stage. Later in the play, this highest section should become the dirty bedroom that ‘smells of sin’.
In general, the staging throughout the play should be ugly, symbolic, simple and sad. It should look dated, but also contain brighter, more modern touches.
The park
For the park, Muñiz suggests that it might consist of a park bench and an old tree with branches that look like the talons of a bird of prey. A lone flower in the foreground would serve as a small touch of brightness. As the curtain rises, snow is falling.
Joaquina’s house
Joaquina’s house is furnished with faded antique furnishings. It is described as dying, like the proprietress herself. There is a fireplace with a large shovel, and on the wall hangs a large portrait of Joaquina’s dead husband.
Concha’s house
Concha’s house is very poorly furnished. Directions suggest that it should be decorated in such a way as to emphasise the claustrophobic and oppressive nature of the space.
Bedroom in Doña Socorro’s house
This bedroom contains a dirty bed and dilapidated chairs, and is lit with low lighting.
Acting advice
Carlos Muñiz writes that, despite appearances, there are times during the play that the actors should perform with extreme seriousness without stressing any of the comedy. Performances should always be exaggerated, especially during the parts when the actors must be extremely serious. César Oliva suggests that this requirement for actors to exaggerate their roles might have come from Muñiz’s sense of frustration at having to rewrite parts of the play to please censors. Oliva notes that, nowadays, such exaggerated acting undermines the power of the text itself (Oliva 2004: 174).
Oliva, César. 2004. ‘Difíciles viejas en difíciles tiempos (A propósito de Las viejas difíciles de Carlos Muñiz’. In Historia y antología del teatro español de posguerra (1966-1970), vol. VI, eds. Víctor García Ruiz y Gregorio Torres Nebrera, pp. 169-75. Madrid, Fundamentos (in Spanish)
(less)The stage directions outline the location of each scene:
Part One
- Prologue: In the corner of a local park
- Scene 1: In a comfortable old house
- Scene 2: In a poor house with two rooms
Par... (Read more...)
Sounds/Music
Near the start of the play, children sing, out of tune. At times the sound of an angry mob can be heard. Joaquina and her army carry machine guns, and bursts of gunfire are heard at several points in the play. At several points, the characters sing popular folk songs relating to marriage and to courtship. (less)
Sounds/Music
Near the start of the play, children sing, out of tune. At times the sound of an angry mob can be heard. Joaquina and her army carry machine guns, and bursts of gunfire are... (Read more...)
