Spanish Theater Before 1936: Key Movements and Playwrights

Spanish Theater Before 1936

Before 1936, three main trends dominated the commercial theater scene: the Burgtheater, the comic theater, and the modernist movement.

The Burgtheater

The Burgtheater focused primarily on social customs, set in urban environments and aimed at middle and upper-middle-class audiences.

• Jacinto Benavente: A playwright of great technical perfection who critiqued the defects of high society. He became the chronicler of the middle class. His greatest success, The Unloved Woman, explores the passionate love of a stepfather for his stepdaughter. His most recognized work is the puppet comedy The Bonds of Interest. Benavente’s works blend serious aspects with realism and fantasy, utilizing colloquial dialogue.

Modern Drama

Modern drama (drama in verse) is the heir to the Romantic theater, focusing primarily on historical themes.

Comic Theater

The comic theater draws inspiration from the 'steps' of Lope de Rueda, as well as traditional interludes and farces.

Valle-Inclán and the Grotesque

The most characteristic playwright of the Generation of '98 is Valle-Inclán. His transitional phase includes the Barbarian Comedies trilogy: Eagle Blazon, Romance of Wolves, and Silver Face. With Divine Words, he embraced the aesthetics of the grotesque, often using farce to ridicule characters and situations, as seen in The Marchioness Rosalinda.

The grotesque is the distortion of reality into something extravagant or ridiculous. This occurs when classic, beautiful heroes are reflected in concave mirrors, becoming grotesque. Beyond Bohemian Lights, his grotesque style is evident in the three short pieces collected in Mardi Gras (The Horns of Don Friolera, The Galanteries of the Deceased, and The Captain's Daughter).

Bohemian Lights

Bohemian Lights is the most important play of the twentieth century. Composed of 15 scenes, the first 12 take place over one night. The characters, Max Estrella and Latino Hispalis, navigate a world where language varies from religious and literary registers to colloquial and vulgar speech, reflecting their socio-cultural conditions.

Federico García Lorca and the Generation of '27

The most characteristic playwright of the Generation of '27 is Federico García Lorca, who founded the university theater group La Barraca.

His plays, written in verse or prose, are defined by essential poetic elements. Recurring themes include the impossibility of love, the imposition of social conventions, and the tragic death of the protagonist—who is almost always a woman. His notable works include:

• The Butterfly's Evil Spell (his first farce)
• Mariana Pineda (a hymn to freedom and love)
• Blood Wedding (centered on the force of blood)
• Yerma
• Doña Rosita the Spinster or the Language of Flowers
• The House of Bernarda Alba

In all of Lorca's works, the struggle against reality inevitably leads to failure.