Spanish Theater Evolution: From Postwar to the 1970s

Postwar Theater: From Censorship to Innovation

During the postwar years, dictatorship entirely controlled theatrical activity in Spain. By the 1950s and 1960s, authorities began to allow works in our language that had previously suffered from censorship and restrictions on press and radio advertising.

Throughout this period, theater saw a recovery in Barcelona, where authors like Salvador Espriu stood out. Simultaneously, in Valencia, a situation of diglossia persisted, with theater performed in Spanish alongside popular, humorous Valencian comedy sketches.

The Rise of Independent Theater

During the 1960s, independent theater emerged within university circles, seeking an audience with a higher cultural level. This new drama followed European trends, including:

• Avant-garde theater
• Surrealism
• The Theater of the Absurd

By the 1970s, groups began offering shows utilizing new techniques such as mime and dramatic provocation. Notable companies from this era include Minstrels, Comediants, and Dagoll-Dagom. Key playwrights of the time include Benet i Jornet, Jordi Teixidor, and Rodolf Sirera.

Manuel de Pedrolo: A Literary Force

The work of Manuel de Pedrolo is among the most extensive and varied in contemporary literature. Pedrolo explored practically all genres, utilizing a wide variety of topics and techniques.

Themes and Techniques

Between 1958 and 1963, he wrote 13 plays focusing on the preservation of authenticity, the sense of existence, and freedom. These works are linked to the Theater of the Absurd through their formal and stylistic approaches.

• Cruma: Explores the authenticity of man based on Heideggerian premises, suggesting that humans are most authentic when incapable of communicating with the outside world.
• Men and Not: Treats the rebellion against the conformity inherited by a young couple.

Pedrolo’s theater arose from the necessity of exposing collective repression while circumventing Francoist censorship. His plays often lack specific history or geography, avoiding anecdotal reproduction of reality. Instead, his characters embody symbols, and the author confronts them with extreme situations from an existentialist perspective. Ultimately, Pedrolo championed the concept of abstract theater.