Dysphoria

Spaniards: sex is dead

On 1 March 2023, Spain passed a law to ensure real and effective equality for transgender persons and safeguard LGBTIQ+ rights. In its first year, 5,139 gender changes were registered. However, this increase also coincided with a surge in gender fraud cases, as some individuals sought to exploit legislative loopholes for questionable purposes. These cases have become points of political contention in the hands of certain parties.

DYSPHORIA (a state defined as the opposite of euphoria) is a docufiction monologue addressing recent gender fraud cases in the United Kingdom to take stock of our understanding and societal responses to such scenarios. This work tactfully explores the legal voids, public concern, and the suffering experienced by those at the centre of these cases, drawing a parallel with the current situation in Spain, where the legislative gaps of the recently passed Trans Law urgently require new solutions.

Actress and producer of Histrión Teatro, she has enjoyed a long career spanning three decades. In the earlier years, she took on emblematic roles such as Joanna the Mad, Dorine in ‘Tartuffe’, ‘Lady Macbeth’, and ‘Belisa in The Love of Don Perlimplín and Belisa in the Garden’. More recently, the troupe has shifted its focus to contemporary works, with her performing as Berta in ‘Del maravilloso mundo de los animales, los corderos’, Ada in ‘La isla’, and the eponymous Nevenka.

As one of the most charismatic actresses of Andalusian theatre, she is in command of a broad interpretive range, is versatile, and is undaunted by risk. She uses acting as a vehicle for sincere, moving communication.

Among her numerous awards and accolades, the following are noteworthy:

2015 RUNNER-UP IN MAX AWARDS as BEST LEAD ACTRESS for ‘Juana, la reina que no quiso reinar’.

2015 award for BEST ACTRESS of ANDALUSIA, bestowed by the Association of Performing Arts of Andalusia for her role in ‘Arizona’.

2017 Granada Coronada award bestowed by the office of the local government of Granada for her lengthy career as an actress.

2023 award for BEST ACTRESS of ANDALUSIA bestowed by the Association of Performing Arts of Andalusia for her eponymous role in ‘Nevenka’.

Director, playwright and actress specialising in voice and theatrical research. She holds a doctorate in research and creation in art from the University of the Basque Country, where she also earned a degree in audio-visual communication and a postgraduate degree in performing arts: Musical Theatre (Royal Central School of Speech & Drama), Performing Arts (Rey Juan Carlos I) and Cultural Administration (UOC).

Her most recent works include ‘Festen’ (Teatro Arriaga), ‘play!’ (Centro Dramático Nacional), ‘Madre Coraje’ (Teatro Arriaga), and ‘Yerma’, earning her a Max award for best adaptation or theatrical version; ‘Altsasu’ (Teatro Arriaga), ‘El Patio de mi casa’, for which she was nominated to the category of best new playwright at the 2021 Max Awards; and ‘Nevenka’ (Histrión Teatro), which echoed her nomination to the aforementioned category and to that of best direction, and also in the Talía awards. In 2017, she launched her own project with the actress Ane Pikaza: La Dramática Errante.

At present, in addition to directing and writing, Goiricelaya is an artist-in-residence at the Centro Dramático Nacional, a member of the Academy of Performing Arts of Spain, an arts programmer at Sala BBK, and an art director of the Olite Theatre Festival.