Pre-1939 Spanish Theater: Trends and Innovations
Pre-1939 Spanish Theater
The theater is a business in which local entrepreneurs take into account the tastes of the audiences. This has consequences for the ideological and aesthetic, especially in the early twentieth century. Theater managers avoided cutting-edge works, hindering the evolution of Spanish drama compared to Europe. Playwrights had to either surrender to these conditions or resign themselves to their productions being relegated to a minority audience. Any attempt to break new ground was condemned on stage. Two types of theater emerged: the conformist theater that triumphed in the nineteenth century and the innovative drama that failed.
Commercial Theater of the Century
This era was a continuation of the late nineteenth century with three major trends:
- High Comedy or Bourgeois Comedy: Offered mild criticism of the moral conflicts of the bourgeoisie, aiming to entertain a bourgeois audience. Its best representative was Jacinto Benavente, who wrote tragedies and triumphed on Spanish stages. He emphasized quality work, dramatic construction, luxurious decor, and careful language defending traditional moral values. His dialogues were known for their naturalness. His theater was conservative and escapist. Works include: The Alien Nest, Saturday Night, Autumn Roses, The Vested Interests, Commedia dell’Arte.
- Poetic Drama: Written in verse, mixing romantic historical drama with modern language and sensory elements. Notable authors include Francisco Villaespesa (Doña Maria de Padilla), Eduardo Marquina (The Daughters of the Cid, In Flanders Has Been the Sun), and the Machado Brothers (Juan de Mañana, La Lola is Going to Ports).
- Humorous Drama: Comedy of manners and farce with light plots, popular characters, and amusing language. Authors include the Quintero Brothers (The Courtyard, Happy Genius, Hell, showcasing a stereotypical Andalusia) and Carlos Arniches (Madrid sketches with ‘castiza’ speech: The Saint of the Isidra, The Wage Miracles, Don Quintin the Bitter). Another aspect was tragedy and grotesque works fusing the laughable and soulful with deeper observation and a critical attitude toward injustice (Mademoiselle de Trevel, The Chiefs). Pedro Muñoz Seca wrote wild pieces aimed at laughter (Don Mendo’s Revenge).
The Innovative Theater
This movement sought to innovate with new techniques and ideological approaches.
The Theater of ’98
- Unamuno: Created philosophical drama, presenting conflicts and ideas that haunted him (Phaedra, The Other).
- Azorín: Unreal and symbolist style with an obsession with the passage of time, anguish, and death.
- Valle-Inclán (1866-1936): Born in Pontevedra, studied law, and was a soldier in Mexico. He wrote for newspapers and associated with the authors of ’98 in Madrid. He lost an arm after an argument with another writer and was appointed director of the Spanish Academy in Rome. He died in Santiago de Compostela. His work evolved from a modern, elegant, and nostalgic style to a critical literature based on the distortion of realities. This satire is the base of the esperpento.
Evolution of Valle-Inclán’s Style:
- Modernist Stage: Sophisticated language reflecting a decadent, aesthetic world (The Son of Souls, The Marquis de Bradomín).
- Transitional or Mythical Cycle: Critical and aggressive tone with harsh language (Eagle Crest, Romance of Wolves, Silver Face).
- Esperpento Era: Valle-Inclán’s grotesque aesthetic began in 1920 (Farce of the King’s Love, Farce and License of the Pure Queen, Divine Words, Bohemian Lights).
The Esperpento:
The esperpento is a distorted image, a deformation of contemporary reality presented humorously and cruelly. It represents a new aesthetic based on distortion, blending tragic and grotesque features. It offers a critical view of Spain at the time, using techniques like caricature, animalization, absurd situations, irony, satire, and colloquial language. The esperpento was a dramatic renovation, reflecting a critical attitude in the 1920s. Valle-Inclán brought Spanish theater closer to what was being done in the rest of Europe.
Jacinto Grau: Created profound theater that, despite failing in Spain, triumphed in Paris and London. His work often focused on myths and literature (Don Juan de Carillana, The Prodigal Son, The Lord of Pygmalion).