Spanish Theater History: Absurdity, Social and Experimental

Mihura and the Comedy of the Absurd

Miguel Mihura and the comedy of the absurd aim to denounce the hypocrisy of sentimentality and bourgeois conventions. The foundational work of this movement is Three Top Hats (Tres sombreros de copa) by Mihura.

• Questioning of bourgeois conventions: A contrast between the respectable bourgeois world and the wandering, free world.
• Resources of comedy: The use of useless objects, play with language, and the subversion of traditional clichés.
• Key works: Maribel and the Strange Family, Peaches in Syrup, and Ninette and a Gentleman from Murcia.
• Enrique Jardiel Poncela: Notable works include Eloísa is Beneath an Almond Tree and The Thieves are Honest People.

Buero Vallejo and Social Theater

Antonio Buero Vallejo and social theater aim to raise awareness in the viewer regarding the tragic condition of man, without self-deception, depicting a life imprisonment of pain and uncertainty.

• Critical analysis: An examination of the Spanish reality of the time.
• Historical characters: Inclusion of figures such as Esquilache, Goya, Larra, and Velázquez.
• Effects of immersion: Techniques designed to draw the audience into the narrative.
• Key works: Story of a Stairway, The Concert of Saint Ovid, and In the Burning Darkness.
• Other prominent authors: Alfonso Sastre (Condemned Squad) and Lauro Olmo (The Shirt).

Arrabal and Experimental Theater

Fernando Arrabal and experimental theater emerged in the 1960s as a reaction against social theater.

• Symbolic Drama: His works are not intended to provide a faithful witness of reality but are parables and allegories about the human condition.
• Nonverbal elements: Gestures, movement, scenery, and music become vital signs.
• Dialogue: Characterized by poetic and absurd language.
• Provocative themes: A drama that presents sex, violence, or insanity.
• Key works: Picnic, The Tricycle, The Car Cemetery, and The Architect and the Emperor of Assyria.
• The Car Cemetery: Features violent, incommunicado characters living in a junkyard. The character Emanú plays the trumpet to relieve existence; however, people do not support it, and he ends up crucified on the handlebars of a bicycle.

Contemporary Theater and Democracy

With the advent of democracy, the theater has seen a return to realism.

• J.L. Alonso de Santos: Famous for Going Down to Morocco (Bajarse al moro).
• Fernando Fernán Gómez: Author of Bicycles are for the Summer.
• Independent theater groups: Groups like La Fura dels Baus, Els Joglars, and Els Comediants tend toward collective creation and nonverbal theater.