Early 20th Century Spanish Theater Evolution

Pre-1936 Spanish Theater

At the beginning of the century, Spanish drama was largely unrecognized. High comedy, referring to bourgeois realist drama, flourished due to societal demand. In 1905, over 50 writers, including Unamuno, Dario, Azorin, Valle-Inclán, the Machado brothers, Graw Maeztu, signed a manifesto of public protest. Key figures in this genre include Dicenta and Jacinto.

Poetic drama attempted to bring modernism to the theater. Eduardo Marquina, with Children of the Cid, was a prominent figure. The Machado brothers also contributed significantly, permeating poetic knowledge into their works.

The comedy of manners showcased great variety, often linked to musicals like the zarzuela and operetta, such as La Gran Vía and La Verbena de la Paloma. Authors like the Alvarez Quintero brothers, Muñoz-Seca, and Arniches (with Don Mendo's Revenge) were crucial.

Minority theater faced challenges, preventing many works like Lights of Bohemia from being staged. Graw Jacinto became a professional playwright, penning The Lord of Pygmalion.

Key Playwrights

Jacinto Benavente wrote The Nest of Another, initially a failure, but later found success with Saturday Night and Lady Mistress. His plays focused on pragmatic bourgeois issues, using domestic settings and collective protagonists, with irony and paradox. Masterpieces include Vested Interests and The Unloved.

Carlos Arniches specialized in sainetes, depicting Madrid customs with a unique, humorous use of language. His works are categorized into genre pieces (The Saint of Isidra), sketches (Don Quintin the Bitter People), and grotesque tragedies (Mademoiselle de Trévelez).

Alejandro Casona contributed to poetic theater with plays like The Stranded Mermaid, Lady of the Dawn, and The Knight of the Golden Spurs.

Federico García Lorca viewed poetry as creativity and aimed for a didactic function in his theater. He began with modernist theater, moved to farce (Puppet of Don Cristóbal, The Prodigious Shoemaker), then to tragedies (Blood Wedding, Yerma), heavily using poetry. Finally, he composed dramas like Doña Rosita the Spinster and The House of Bernarda Alba.