Evolution of Spanish Drama: From Realism to Post-War Experimentation
c) Last Stage: Subjective Vision
Characterized by the subjective point of view. The action reaches the viewer through a vision filtered by characters with physical or mental limitations. Notable titles include The Sleep of Reason (1970). Buero’s work expresses a search for profound truth: a lucid, dialectic view of human contradictions, rejecting dogmatism. Freedom is achieved through knowledge of the truth.
Realistic Drama of the Sixties
In the sixties, authors building on Buero Vallejo and Alfonso Sastre’s foundation developed a drama evolving from realistic-naturalistic forms to new aesthetics: grotesque charade or farce. Authors like José María Rodríguez Méndez, Carlos Muñiz, and Antonio Gala showed a predilection for social issues (poverty, migration, exploitation, hypocrisy, violence). They employed violent, direct language without euphemisms, predominantly with a tone of bitterness and despair. Their protagonists are often victims, defeated by an alienated society.
Notable works include: Lauro Olmo’s La camisa; Rodríguez Méndez’s The Innocents of la Moncloa (1951) and Autumn Flower (1972); Carlos Muñiz’s The Inkstand (1961). Antonio Gala, whose first book was The Green Fields of Eden (1963), is known for his mixture of lyricism and realism.
Theatre of Protest and Complaint: Alfonso Sastre
This label describes postwar writers whose works were censored for political reasons. Alfonso Sastre consistently researched the theory and practice of dramatic events. He encouraged the renewal of dramatic forms. His works, technically strong and dramatically forceful, evolved from existentialism to social engagement, across three stages:
First Stage: Metaphysical drama with existential concerns: Death and the Sleepwalking Comedy, both in collaboration with Medardo Fraile.
Second Stage: Theatre of social criticism, “Dramas of the revolution”: Squad to the Death (1951), on the destruction of the powerful during the Cold War.
Third Stage: “Tragedy complex,” a syncretic tragedy with elements of the grotesque (Valle-Inclán) and objectivist detachment.
Non-Realistic Theatre of the Sixties and Seventies
In the sixties and seventies, authors like Luis Riaza and Francisco Nieva adopted a different dramatic style to address issues similar to those of the realists. Common features include:
- Replacement of character-person with character-sign
- Symbolic action and language
- Non-linear action development
- Design of experimental shows and collective theatre
- Loss of textual importance
- Focus on the grotesque and satirical farce
Prototypes of this non-realistic theatre include works by Francisco Nieva (Theatre of Fury) or Fernando Arrabal, a bilingual author with his Theatre of Panic (e.g., Men’s Tricycle, 1958). Independent theatre groups also played a crucial role in this theatrical renovation.
Theatre Post-1975
The restoration of democratic freedoms in 1975 allowed previously suppressed theatre to emerge. Diverse trends appeared, including:
a. Avant-garde works continuing previous experiments. This includes Francisco Nieva, Fernando Arrabal, and independent theatre groups (Joglars, Els Comediants, La Fura dels Baus, La Cubana, Esperpento-Noon, Dagoll-Dagom, Abbey Theatre, La Cuadra, etc.).
b. Realistic works, including historical dramas (e.g., Ay, Carmela! (1987) by José Sanchis Sinisterra) and critical content, alongside more commercial comedies adapted to modern times. Notable authors include Fermín Cabal (You’re Crazy, Briones (1978)), Ignacio Amestoy, Álvaro del Amo, and Ernesto Caballero.
José Luis Alonso de Santos is a master of comedy of manners, set in modern cities with contemporary problems: unemployment, crime, drugs (The Shopkeeper of Vallecas (1980), Get off the Moor (1984)).
c. New works by established authors (Buero Vallejo, Sastre, Antonio Gala) adapting to new trends and societal issues.