Similarly, in this house, where everyone else is blind, Poncia is the seeing person: she can see but she can’t do anything about it. That was very useful for me in thinking about Poncia’s character, because Poncia says to Bernarda, ‘You’re blind! You don’t want to see what’s going on!’ So I was talking to Glen about how, in Greek tragedy, Poncia is like Tiresias: a blind prophet and seer who could see when others, with sight, could not, but could not influence the outcome of events. I read this very interesting article that analysed the idea of seeing and blindness in The House Of Bernarda Alba. Did anything come up while you were researching the play/role that particularly resonated with you? It’s tricky to play, because it’s about watching. She cannot dominate the scene she must always be underneath the scene. I think that’s the challenge: to play that person who is reactive to situations. She’s not a strong agent of what’s happening. She’s even more of a shadow because she’s always watching what’s going on. You know, that Shakespearean line? Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage / And then is heard no more. Poncia’s a walking shadow. What are the challenges you’ve faced in playing Poncia? That also makes her frustrated because she’s powerless, and she has very limited choices in life. She can see it coming, but there’s so little she can do about it. At one point, she says, ‘Something monstrous is festering’. If it does, where would she go? She has no other home, this is the only home she has. So she still always tries to do something about it – because she doesn’t want it to fall to pieces. In some ways, she’s like most people in a state: seeing what’s going on, but quite powerless to do much about it. If you make comparisons to the state, if the house is this country, then Poncia doesn’t belong to the upper echelons of power. ![]() How do you think Poncia fits into Lorca’s play, which is intensely symbolical? It’s always going to be an unequal relationship, and sometimes Poncia forgets – and then Bernarda or one of the girls will remind her. She’s not equal to them but she’s become dependent on them. ![]() Her feelings for Bernarda are so complex, because she’s been with them for so long. She’s been their nanny, maid, servant: treated like family, but not family. I’m still figuring her out – she’s so complicated! Poncia has been with the family for thirty years, so she’s brought up all of these girls, most of them since the time they were born. She talks to us about the (very Greek) tragedy of playing a character who’s so much a shadow within the world in which she lives. ![]() 1, Jo Kukathas returns to the Singapore stage to play Poncia – the senior domestic helper in The House Of Bernarda Alba. Following her triumphant turn as the goddess in last year’s Dreamplay: Asian Boys Vol.
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