Juan Rana was the most famous buffoon of his time. An actor working during the years 1617-1672, he achieved a status similar to that of the Italian Harlequin and was a favourite of the ruling monarchy and the general populace. Over fifty short plays were written especially for Rana by some of the most important playwrights of the day, including Pedro Calder?n de la Barca, who crowned Rana the most famous gracioso of the baroque era.

Juan Rana was arrested in 1636 for the 'nefarious sin' of homosexuality and thereafter played more gender bending, transvestite, and homosexual...

Juan Rana, the most famous actor of the Spanish Golden Age, enjoyed a long and successful career from 1617 to 1672. Over fifty entremeses - interludes featured between the main acts of full-length plays - were written especially for him by some of the most important playwrights of the period. This bilingual and annotated edition of The Outrageous Juan Rana Entremeses translates a selection of the entremeses for the first time, highlighting their literary complexity and providing historical context for the many double meanings and innuendos they contain.

Rana's arrest for...