The crossing of languages in Raúl Ruiz’s unpublished theatre

A playful and boundless writing

Abstract

This essay is the first approach to multilingualism in Raúl Ruiz’s dramatic works. After his death, his manuscripts were found in his house, stored inside a cupboard, in folders that have remained unpublished until now. What do these hitherto unexplored texts reveal to us? Does this personal writing show us a new, until now unknown side of the author? Because they were not intended for publication, Ruiz’s unpublished play manuscripts function as a window into his mind, allowing us to unravel his way of conceiving the creative act from an intimate perspective. They reveal the way in which Ruiz switched from one language to another for no apparent reason. Throughout this article we will see that behind these changes, it is possible to understand the ideological stance behind his writing.