Sagunto's Roman Theatre stages Lope de Vega's 'La dama boba' tomorrow
The 43rd edition of the Sagunt a Escena festival brings the classic comedy 'La dama boba' to Sagunto's Roman Theatre this Thursday, 13 August, at 22:30, directed by Josep Maria Mestres.
The 43rd edition of Sagunt a Escena — driven by the regional Conselleria (department) of Education, Culture and Universities through the Institut Valencià de Cultura (IVC), with the Valencia Provincial Council (Diputación de Valencia) and Sagunto City Council also taking part — brings the comedy 'La dama boba' to the Roman Theatre stage tomorrow, Thursday 13 August. The performance starts at 22:30 and adapts one of the most celebrated texts by Lope de Vega, written during Spain's Golden Age (Siglo de Oro).
According to the manuscript the playwright signed himself, he finished the play on 28 April 1613 — an unusually precise date for a period when the exact writing date of most comedies has been lost. The plot follows Finea, a young woman who appears to lack any wit but who, as the story unfolds, reveals surprising cunning and becomes as discreet as she is sharp. Around her, romantic misunderstandings, eccentric characters and rapid-fire dialogue build the classic tension between love and reason that defines the playwright's work.
The production is directed by Josep Maria Mestres, based on a text by Xus de la Cruz. Mestres arrives in Sagunto just weeks after being named, this past June, the new director of the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya (Catalonia's National Theatre) — making this one of his first productions since taking up the post. The performance is also designed to be accessible to all audiences, with resources supporting inclusion for people with different needs.
The theatrical day does not end with Lope de Vega. Two hours earlier, at 20:00, Cronista Chabret square hosts 'Caso enterrado' ('Buried Case'), by the Valencian company Colectiv Notknown, also part of the Sagunt a Escena programme. The piece mixes circus, dance and physical theatre around an unusual plot: the alleged murder of the two-hundred-year-old ficus tree belonging to the De la Cruz family, whose four members become the main suspects.
'Caso enterrado' is the first work created as a collective by these four multidisciplinary artists, trained at the Creat circus school, who have already earned recognition: their debut piece won the 2024 Llavoretes Award at the Contorsions Festival in Valencia and the 2025 Alacant a Escena Award. Between the classical comedy at the Roman Theatre and the contemporary piece at Cronista Chabret square, tomorrow's programme combines two very different approaches to performing arts within the same festival. According to aytosagunto.es, with additional background from Wikipedia on 'La dama boba' and Josep Maria Mestres.