20th Century Spanish Theatre: From Sketches to the Absurd
20th Century Spanish Theatre
Early 20th Century Trends
In the early 20th century, Spanish theatre was divided into two main categories: popular entertainment and artistic renewal.
Popular Theatre
This category included:
- Sketches: Short, comedic plays based on popular stereotypes and settings. Andalusian sketches often featured lighthearted dialogue and emotional themes, while Madrid sketches focused on characters from traditional neighborhoods with humorous language and puns. Some playwrights, like Arniches, developed a “grotesque tragedy” by combining farcical elements with tragic situations, as seen in Miss Trevélez.
- Slapstick: Broad humor based on absurd and misleading scenes, exemplified by Pedro Muñoz Seca’s Don Mendo’s Revenge.
- Neo-Romantic Drama: Verse plays portraying heroic deeds of the past and celebrating traditional values, such as early works by Valle-Inclán (The Marquis of Bradomin, April Story) and Lorca (Mariana Pineda).
- Comedy of Manners: Developed by Jacinto Benavente, this genre was a successor to 19th-century “high comedy.” These well-written plays with fluid dialogue critically examined human vices and societal conventions. The Vested Interests, for example, used characters inspired by the Commedia dell’arte to critique bourgeois ideals.
Artistic Renewal
This movement was led by playwrights like Unamuno, who explored themes of personality and existence, but struggled to gain widespread acclaim. However, Valle-Inclán and Lorca successfully combined critical recognition with popular appeal.
Valle-Inclán
Valle-Inclán was a flamboyant figure whose personal evolution mirrored his dramatic style. His work can be divided into three stages:
- Modernist: Characterized by poetic language and settings similar to his narrative works. His Sonatas were adapted into plays like The Marquis of Bradomin.
- Primitivism: Focused on rural Galicia, with characters driven by primal instincts like lust and violence. This period includes the Barbarian Comedy, featuring the character Don Juan Manuel Montenegro.
- Esperpento: Introduced elements of farce and grotesque caricature, often under the title Tablado de Marionetas (Puppet Stage). Characters became distorted and puppet-like, as seen in Divine Words, which revisited the world of Galicia but emphasized its sordid and miserable aspects. Luces de Bohemia (Bohemian Lights) further developed the esperpento style, presenting reality through a distorted lens. Key features of esperpento include:
- Degraded, puppet-like characters, often animalized.
- Modern problems presented through these characters, creating grotesque and satirical situations.
- Rapid succession of characters and scenes.
- A mix of linguistic registers: formal language, literary quotations, parodies, and slang.
- Emphasis on visual descriptions.
Valle-Inclán’s innovative work was ahead of its time.
Post-Civil War Theatre
The Spanish Civil War marked a turning point. Valle-Inclán and Lorca died, and many playwrights, including Alejandro Casona (author of The Lady of the Dawn), went into exile. Benavente and Arniches continued writing. Post-war theatre often followed Benavente’s comedy of manners, exploring moral and social issues in both serious and lighthearted tones. Enrique Jardiel Poncela’s work stands out for its witty dialogue, absurd situations, and atypical characters. His plays, such as Eloísa está debajo de un almendro (Eloise is Under an Almond Tree), anticipated the Theatre of the Absurd. Miguel Mihura’s Three Top Hats, though written during this period, wasn’t premiered until 1952.