Out of the Wings: Plays from Uruguay

Image: A section from the cover of The Methuen Drama Book of Contemporary Uruguayan Plays designed by by Megan Wilson

Out of the Wings: Plays from Uruguay - Omnibus Theatre, 7:30pm, Friday 13 March 2026

Join Out of the Wings at Omnibus Theatre, Clapham, for Plays from Uruguay, an encounter with contemporary Uruguayan playwriting, in celebration of the recent publication of The Methuen Drama Book of Contemporary Uruguayan Plays (Bloomsbury, 2025).

Plays from Uruguay will present rehearsed readings of extracts, in English translation, of six Uruguayan plays, by writers whose work has won widespread recognition at home and beyond Uruguay’s borders. Rooted in their experiences in Uruguay, while also looking out to the world beyond, their plays encompass styles ranging from realism to autofiction, and engage with themes including the challenges of parenthood, the search for identity, the legacies of Uruguay's literary giants, the processes and risks of making art, the limits between fiction and reality, and violence against women in contemporary society.

In ANA VERSUS DEATH by Gabriel Calderón, translated by Stephen Brown, the eponymous protagonist embarks on a dangerous mission to save her son's life when he is diagnosed with cancer; in THEY ALL SLEEP AT SIESTA TIME by Leonor Courtoisie, translated by William Gregory, three young friends take a road-trip across rural Uruguay to rescue a dying armadillo and, perhaps, themselves; in BASIC NOTIONS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF BRIDGES by Jimena Márquez, translated by Catherine Boyle, a group of actors struggles to devise a play in honour of the revered Uruguayan writer, Mario Benedetti; in I WILL GIVE YOU VERSES, NOT CHILDREN by Marianella Morena, translated by Kate Eaton, the life and death of pioneering poet Delmira Agustini is the starting-point for an exploration of ongoing misogyny; in PRELUDE TO ANNE by Sandra Massera, translated by Rachel Toogood, a playwright wrestles with the responsibility of writing a play about Anne Frank, and in EMOTIONAL TERROR by Josefina Trías, translated by Sophie Stevens, a break-up leads a dramatist to delve into the writing process itself, and its capacity to heal.

The extracts will be directed by Kate O'Connor, and will be followed by a panel discussion, chaired by Dr. Jozefina Komporaly (University of the Arts, London) on Uruguayan playwriting today, its place in the English-speaking theatre landscape, and the role of publications like the Bloomsbury anthology in the journeys of plays across borders and onto stages, syllabuses, and bookshelves.

The extracts will be performed by Cecilia Alfonso-Eaton, Richard Glaves and Lanna Joffrey.

Tickets to Plays from Uruguay are free of charge, but please book in advance online. The event has been made possible thanks to support from the Baroness von Schlippenbach endowment.

More news on the new book: the Centre for Latin American and Caribbean Studies will host an event on Friday 6th March at Senate House to explore the anthology alongside other events to mark International Women's Day. You can find details about this event here.