Spanish Post-war Theater: From Exile to Experimentation
1. Introduction
In post-war Spain, the constraints of theatrical genre were sharpened by censorship, which sometimes led to film becoming a substitute for live theater performances.
2. Theater in Exile
The theater of exile, developed in Mexico and Argentina after the war, cultivated aesthetic differences from Spain. Artistic interests led exiled playwrights to incorporate cutting-edge developments into their works. Key authors include:
Rafael Alberti (1922-1995)
Notable works: Fermín Galán (1931), Gallant (1944), The Scarecrow (1944), and Night of War in the Prado Museum (1956).
Alejandro Casona (1903-1965)
His plays often reflected post-war bourgeois comedy. His most noteworthy work is The Lady of the Dawn (1944).
3. Drama of the 1940s: Miguel Mihura
Key trends include:
- High-Style Benaventino Comedy: Characterized by measured criticism, a focus on comic theater, luxurious settings reflecting the characters’ social class, and a lack of depth in ideas. Notable playwrights include José María Pemán, Joaquín Calvo Sotelo, Juan Ignacio Luca de Tena, and Alfonso Paso.
- Comic Theater: Miguel Mihura and Enrique Jardiel Poncela are the two most important authors. Jardiel Poncela’s theater is distinguished by improbable situations bordering on the absurd. Pre-war works include A Woman’s Eyes Have Fatal Consequences and Heloise. Post-war works include Under an Almond Tree, Thieves Are Honest People, and The Inhabitants of the Empty House.
Miguel Mihura’s Theater
Mihura, founder of the humor magazine La Codorniz, created theater related to the theater of the absurd through its exploration of social conventions. His dramatic career began with Three Hats, a play that was initially misunderstood, leading Mihura to create more commercial works. His central theme is the conflict between social convention and the individual. Other important works include Peaches in Syrup, Maribel and the Strange Family, and Ninette, a Man from Murcia.
4. Realistic Theater of the 1950s: Buero Vallejo and Alfonso Sastre
Bourgeois and humorous comedies remained popular in the 1950s, with Alfonso Paso’s Marriage Dinners and Good People among the most successful. However, a university audience emerged, demanding more critical plays. These new works revolved around social issues such as inequality, dehumanizing bureaucracy, and immigration, adopting a protest attitude towards the current situation. The main authors were Buero Vallejo and Alfonso Sastre, alongside others like José María Méndez (The Innocent of Moncloa) and Lauro Olmo (The Shirt, focusing on emigration).
Buero Vallejo’s Theater
A Fine Arts student turned playwright and Republican army veteran, Buero Vallejo combined political and existential themes in his work. His plays often explore the tragedy of human fulfillment truncated by social constraints, using immersion techniques to encourage audience identification. His career can be divided into the following stages:
- First Stage: Existential approach and realistic technique. Story of a Staircase depicts the lives of residents in a building. Burning in the Darkness tells of how life in an institution for the blind is disrupted by a new arrival.
- Second Stage: Social focus dominates. To avoid censorship, Buero Vallejo used historical drama to analyze the present in plays like A Dreamer for a People, Las Meninas, San Ovid’s Concert, The Sleep of Reason, and Skylight. Characters marked by the tragedy of the civil war emerge. The technique evolves with complex “multiple stage” spaces and resources to draw the viewer into the action.
- Third Stage: Stage experimentation and increased political content. The Foundation features political prisoners who believe they are in a luxurious foundation. Other works include The Detonation, The Arrival of Farewells, and The Double History of Doctor Valmy.
Alfonso Sastre’s Theater
Sastre, co-founder of the New Art theater group, published the Manifesto of Social Agitation Theater with José María de Quinto in the 1950s. His works examine the consequences of unjust power and rebellion against it. Notable plays include The Bread of All and Death Squad, which depicts the tyranny of soldiers avoiding the front lines.
5. Drama Between the 1960s and 1970s: Experimental Theater
Commercial theater was represented by Alfonso Paso, Jaime Salom, Jaime de Armiñán, Juan José Alonso Millán, and Ana Diosdado. Antonio Gala premiered The Green Fields of Eden in 1963, followed by Rings for a Lady and Why Do You Run, Ulysses? in the 1970s. His theater is known for its poetic and moralizing tone.
Alongside commercial theater, experimental theater emerged, characterized by a move beyond realism and a search for new dramatic forms. Its critical content and formal daring made it difficult to stage. Experimental theater introduced new techniques, emphasizing visuals, narrative pace, and fragmented structure. While still critical of Spain, the themes aimed for universality, with irony directed at political opposition. Notable groups and authors include:
- Independent Theater Groups: Moved away from realism, incorporating symbolic, grotesque, and other elements. Prominent groups include Joglars, Els Comediants, and La Fura dels Baus in Catalonia; Tábano and Gladiators in Madrid; and La Cuadra in Andalusia.
- Established Experimental Playwrights: Fernando Arrabal (The Graveyard of Cars), Francisco Nieva (The Battle of Opals and Tasia, The Hot Lead Carriage), and Manuel Martínez Mediero (The Last Chicken, Buffalo Bill’s Brothers).