Is Autofiction a Way to Heal Wounds? The Case of "Los otros Gondra" ("The Other Gondras")

Abstract

In January 2019, The Other Gondras (A Basque Tale), written by the Basque dramatist Borja Ortiz de Gondra, premiered in Madrid. The work probes the wounds of a Basque family after the long years of violence caused by the terrorism of ETA, the armed nationalist group. It connects with another play by the author, The Gondras (A Basque Story), but while The Gondras analyzes the history of that family over more than a hundred years, The Other Gondras dissects the relationships between certain members of the family at a specific moment. The playwright himself, who also intervenes in the work as an actor, returns to his town to collect a literary prize, as indeed he did, and the family is obliged to face its recent history. The theme of reconciliation in the Basque Country has been treated in the novel and the essay but its incorporation into the theatre through the technique of autofiction is novel.