20th Century Spanish Theater: From Dictatorship to Democracy
20th Century Spanish Theater
From Dictatorship to Democracy
The 20th century witnessed constant change across all spheres of life: scientific, technological, and ideological. Between 1939 and 1975, Spain lived under Franco’s dictatorship. The postwar period was marked by famine and political isolation. This closure ended in the early fifties with increased openness and improved living standards. In the sixties, industrial development fostered foreign influence, clashing with Franco’s ultra-conservative regime. The transition years (1975-1978) saw the restoration of the monarchy under Juan Carlos I and the establishment of a democratic system guaranteeing political pluralism. Spain became a developed nation, integrating with major international organizations: NATO (1982) and the European Economic Community (1986).
Theater Under Franco
From 1939, the Spanish theatrical scene, compared to Europe, was impoverished. Censorship, business interests, and the perceived bad taste of the bourgeois public imposed serious constraints on innovative creations. However, dramatic activity continued in exile, linked to the Republican world, with playwrights like Alberti (The Eyesore), Max Aub (The Rape of Europe, Heads and Tails), and Alejandro Casona (La dama del alba).
In the forties, alongside works by foreign authors (Oscar Wilde, Pirandello, Arthur Miller), two main trends emerged:
- Bourgeois Comedy: Rooted in Benavente’s style, it featured conventional structure, language, and gentle critiques of bourgeois customs, upholding traditional values. Representative authors include Ruiz Iriarte (Children’s Game), José López Rubio (Jealousy in the Air), Joaquín Calvo Sotelo (The Visit That Rang the Bell), and Edgar Neville (The Ball).
- Theater of Humor: This trend sought laughter through language games and absurd situations. Key figures include Enrique Jardiel Poncela (Eloísa está debajo de un almendro, Four Hearts with Brake and Reverse) and Miguel Mihura (Three Hats, Maribel and the Strange Family, La bella Dorotea).
Social Realism and Beyond
In the 50s, the rise of social realism in novels and the easing of censorship allowed for beginning in 1949 with Buero Vallejo’s Historia de una escalera and continued by Alfonso Sastre’s Squadron to Death. This theater was less conventional and more concerned with social injustice.
Antonio Buero Vallejo, a prominent playwright of the latter half of the 20th century, had three main creative stages: existentialism (In the Burning Darkness), social realism with traditional techniques (The Skylight), and experimental works using props for audience immersion (The Foundation, The Detonation).
The sixties saw young playwrights initially adopting realism before evolving towards allegorical and fantastical forms. Key figures include Carlos Muñiz (The Inkwell), Laura Olmo, and Antonio Gala (The Green Fields of Eden).
Late 20th Century
In the late sixties, realistic theater faced a crisis. New playwrights broke with earlier conventions while maintaining social critiques. They moved towards fragmented and open narratives, requiring interpretive effort. This period saw experimentation with theatrical language and the rise of independent groups like Tábano, Los Goliardos, Els Joglars, and La Fura dels Baus. Notable authors include Francisco Nieva (Hot Lead Float, Shadow, Larra Chimera) and Fernando Arrabal, creator of the “panic theater” (Picnic, The Tricycle, Guernica).
The restoration of democracy allowed for the performance of previously silenced works. Symbolic drama continued, with José María Rodríguez García’s The Taxidermist and José Luis Alonso de Santos’ Bajarse al moro. Antonio Gala (Petra Regalada, The Sleeping Beauty) and Alonso Millán (Shock Treatment) represented more conventional drama.
In the eighties, playwrights like Alonso de Santos and Sanchis Sinisterra revived interest in current affairs and realism. De Santos explored social problems in comedies like La estanquera de Vallecas. Sinisterra is known for ¡Ay, Carmela!, and Fermín Cabal for You’re Crazy, Briones.
The eighties and nineties saw increased institutional support for theater, particularly with the National Center for New Performing Trends. Independent theaters became more professional, coexisting with individual authors like Ernesto Caballero (Nostalgia) and Lluïsa Cunillé (Rodeo).