Spanish Theater Evolution: 20th Century Movements & Masterpieces

Spanish Theater Before 1936

Before 1936, theater was primarily understood as a commercial spectacle and an event of diversion. It was not merely social and critical, nor was it deeply committed to social and political issues during the first quarter of the century.

Jacinto Benavente's Theater

Jacinto Benavente's first work, El nido ajeno (Outside the Nest), marked a significant break with traditional theater. His plays connected deeply with the bourgeois public.

Key Genres in Benavente's Work:

• Bourgeois Comedy: Characters belonged to the bourgeoisie, moving in cosmopolitan salons. Notable works include La gobernadora (The Governess) and La princesa Bebé (The Princess Baby).
• Rural Dramas: An example is Señora ama (Mistress Loves).
• Farce: The most enduring is Los intereses creados (The Bonds of Interest).

Jacinto Benavente's theater dominated the Spanish scene for approximately 50 years.

Poetic Drama

This genre featured verse drama inspired by historical and rich themes. It imitated modernist aesthetic aspects and romantic theater, but often lacked strong dramatic value.

Notable Authors and Works:

• Eduard Marquina: Las hijas del Cid (The Daughters of the Cid)
• Francisco Villaespesa: Doña María Padilla

Comic Theater

Popular Comic Theater

This theater presented an idealized, picturesque popular life in its environments, using popular language.

Key Authors:

• Carlos Arniches: Known for works like La santa de la Isidra (The Saint of Isidra).
• Pedro Seca: Created a comical subgenre known as "slapstick."

New Comic Theater

This style sought complicity with the audience through improbable plots, similar to a thriller. It often accumulated difficult-to-explain details, making it hard to grasp the meaning until the very end. Themes included love, satire, and mystery, characterized by witty dialogue.

Innovative Theater

This theater went against the prevailing currents of the bourgeois public. Critics and authors often had their own publications, rejecting commercialism and escapist theater. This subgenre had little success.

Theater of the Generation of '27

The Generation of '27 sought a purification of poetic theater, aiming for a new art form accessible to the public.

Ramón del Valle-Inclán's Theater

Valle-Inclán's early modernist works include El Marqués de Bradomín (The Marquis of Bradomín) and Comedias Bárbaras (Barbaric Comedies). However, his true importance lies in his creation of the esperpento, a vanguard theatrical form characterized by grotesque distortion of reality.

Fundamental Esperpento Works:

• Luces de bohemia (Lights of Bohemia)
• Martes de carnaval (Mardi Gras)

Federico García Lorca's Theater

Lorca's first plays were related to modern drama, such as El maleficio de la mariposa (The Butterfly's Evil Spell) and Mariana Pineda. He later wrote farces, including La zapatera prodigiosa (The Shoemaker's Prodigious Wife) and Amor de Don Perlimplín con Belisa en su jardín (The Love of Don Perlimplín and Belisa in His Garden).

Three of his plays—El público (The Public), Así que pasen cinco años (When Five Years Pass), and Comedia sin título (Play Without a Title)—show the strong influence of surrealism.

Upon returning from New York, Lorca declared his intention to undertake a theatrical renovation, following Valle-Inclán's precedent. His dramatic tragedy became oriented towards rural themes, characterized by:

• Seeking a total popular spectacle.
• Captivating the public.
• Using simple, direct, yet poetic language.
• Featuring female protagonists who are prevented from developing their essential feelings, such as love or motherhood.

La casa de Bernarda Alba (The House of Bernarda Alba) is undoubtedly Lorca's masterpiece. Its closed, suffocating setting, the pervasive mourning, and the imposed prohibitions on the characters accentuate the tragic eroticism.