Spanish Theatre in the Early Twentieth Century
Spanish Theatre: Early 20th Century Trends
Drama requires viewers. This reality significantly influenced playwrights at the beginning of the twentieth century, as the public primarily came from the bourgeoisie. Playwrights responded in two main ways:
- Creating works designed to please the audience, known as triumphant theatre (often with low critical depth).
- Developing an avant-garde theatre that aimed to surprise the audience and carried a critical (often anti-bourgeois) message.
Triumphant Theatre in Spain
Realist Theatre Continuation
This theatre continued the realism of the nineteenth century. Jacinto Benavente was its chief representative, molding his work to mainstream tastes and offering gentle critiques of societal flaws. His best-known works include The Vested Interests and La Malquerida.
Poetic Drama in Verse
This style mixed aspects of Romanticism and Modernism. Notable figures include Eduardo Marquina (In Flanders, the Sun Has Set) and the Machado brothers (La Lola se va a los puertos).
Comic Theatre
The Álvarez Quintero brothers were authors of a theatre without profound claims, creating popular works often set in Andalusia. A highlight is Malvaloca.
Innovative Theatre Movements
Several playwrights sought to innovate:
- Miguel de Unamuno wrote a theatre of ideas.
- Jacinto Grau also contributed to innovative forms.
- Enrique Jardiel Poncela and Miguel Mihura: These were leading exponents associated with the Generation of ’27. They undertook substantial renovation in Spanish comedy drama, achieving their greatest recognition after the Spanish Civil War.
Other notable figures include:
Ramón María del Valle-Inclán
His plays are characterized by a constant effort to renew the Spanish stage. Consequently, some of his works were initially denied dramatic value (e.g., Comedias bárbaras). He is one of the major Spanish playwrights. His production began in 1899 with Cenizas and ended with La hija del capitán in 1927.
- Myth Cycle: The trilogy Comedias bárbaras, set in Galicia, is characterized by a primitive and timeless setting where human passions and irrational forces undergo a process of mythification.
- Farce Cycle: Works such as La Marquesa Rosalinda or Farsa y licencia de la Reina Castiza feature settings with 18th-century elements.
- Esperpento Cycle: Here, the mechanism is not mythification but, on the contrary, the demystification and grotesque deformation of reality, reflecting the writer’s contemporary world. Highlights include Los cuernos de don Friolera, Las galas del difunto, and La hija del capitán.
The esperpento cycle marks the culmination of a long and fruitful path of innovation that placed Spanish theatre within the vanguard of European dramatic art, despite limited commercial success.
Federico García Lorca
A rigorous poet who combined inspiration with a deep knowledge of diverse authors, sources, and compositional technique. Lorca’s theatrical work represents an attempt at purification and a constant quest to restore the original purity of classical and popular theatre (in the best sense of the word). His theatre achieved universal value. Key aspects of his plays include:
- Poetic Refinement: Using evocative language to establish atmosphere. Incorporating rhythms, songs, litanies, or choruses connects his work to classical theatre.
- Synthesis: Integrating avant-garde trends with features of traditional theatre.
- Accessibility: Bringing theatre to the common people.