mirrors
the outrageous juan rana entremeses a bilingual and annotated selection of plays written for this spanish age gracioso
p juan rana the most famous actor of the spanish golden age enjoyed a long and successful career from 1617 to 1672 . over fifty entremeses interludes featured between the main acts of full length plays were written especially for him by some of the most important playwrights of the period . this bilingual and annotated edition of the outrageous juan rana entremeses translates a selection of the entremeses for the first time highlighting their literary complexity and providing historical context for the many double meanings and innuendos they contain . p ranas arrest for homosexuality in 1636 led him to play more gender bending transvestite and implicitly sexual roles . many of his roles parody marriage patriarchy and heterocentric values while wrestling with issues of gender sexual and biological identity . as peter e. thompson ably demonstrates these interludes challenge preconceived notions about society during the spanish golden age by dealing with subject matter that remains extraordinarily relevant today .