"Esperant": A play about the lives of immigrant women

Abstract

“Esperant” is a play, but not just any play; it is a play that dramatizes the results of a research project. It is an approach to another way of writing, of communicating a study. It is about experimenting, playing with language and other narrative forms, without losing the content and power of the research. “Esperant” is therefore the materialization of a research process and, above all, of its results and analysis. The play presents the research environment, a doctor’s office, a key part of the Catalan health system; actresses, the protagonists of the story, immigrant women, members of associations and health professionals; dialogues and conversations in the midst of waiting, life stories that make up the research material; and a first analysis in the form of thoughts or reflections. Specifically, the objective of the research on which the text is based was to analyze and explain the trajectories of maintaining the well-being of the groups of immigrant women most present in Catalonia, in order to reevaluate the women’s own organization and participation projects, as well as the aspects of negotiation/mutual accommodation between newly arrived women and the receiving society. Finally, it should be noted that this narrative aims to offer another avenue for thinking about writing and new literary forms for the social sciences, introducing dialogue, narration, dramatization, etc. in short, theater.