Deception, misery, cunning, hunger, ruses, masters, servants, dependence, solitude, treason, need, and once again deception. Lázaro is all of this. Lies and swindling mark Lazarillo’s path to ‘maturity’. A maturity based on the sacrifice of conscience, of self-deception, of choosing to ignore what we know in order to be able to live in peace.


Lazarillo de Tormes is the story of an orphan and his struggle for survival as the servant of several masters in a world where swindling is a necessary way of life and deprivation cannot afford him the luxury of morality.  As Brecht said of disadvantaged sectors of society: ‘Food comes first, then morality.’  



Though deeply embedded in the Spanish cultural consciousness, this is a story which has as much to say to us all. Three actors, a pile of clothes, and some music are all the elements needed for this biting social satire, of hearing, seeing and keeping quiet, of moral double standards, which, like a mirror, reflect back to us a clear image of who we still are today.