'Why do you never speak of the past?'

In present-day Madrid, Camelia retreats into her past under the neglectful eyes of her middle-aged children. When they hire a Colombian migrant as her carer, his presence threatens a family unit already at breaking point.

In 1968, under Franco’s regime, Margarita fears for her son Juan. Forced to confront her past to save his future, her choices have ramifications that will echo through the generations.

In Song of First Desire, Andrew Bovell marries the savage poetry of familial relationships with the brutal realities of a country still coming to terms with its history. When forgetting the crimes of the past is enshrined in the law, what does it take for a family to reckon with generations of secrets?

This edition includes a Spanish language version of the play translated by Jorge Muriel.

‘A complex work from a masterful writer.’—Artshub

‘Epic in its transgenerational scope and the profundity of its questions, yet it also shrinks to

taut family drama’—Sydney Morning Herald

This edition includes a Spanish language version of the play translated by Jorge Muriel.

'A complex work from a masterful writer.'—Artshub

'Epic in its transgenerational scope and the profundity of its questions, yet it also shrinks to taut family drama'—Sydney Morning Herald