Theatre Censorship in Spain, 1931–1985
Author(s) Catherine O'Leary,Michael Thompson
Language: English
Genre(s): Modern Languages, Media, Film and Theatre, History
Series: Iberian and Latin American Studies
- May 2023 · 560 pages ·216x138mm
- · Hardback - 9781786839824
- · eBook - pdf - 9781786839831
- · eBook - epub - 9781786839848
About The Book
This is a comprehensive study of the impact of censorship on theatre in twentieth-century Spain. It draws on extensive archival evidence, vivid personal testimonies and in-depth analysis of legislation to document the different kinds of theatre censorship practised during the Second Republic (1931–6), the civil war (1936–9), the Franco dictatorship (1939–75) and the transition to democracy (1975–85). Changes in criteria, administrative structures and personnel from these periods are traced in relation to wider political, social and cultural developments, and the responses of playwrights, directors and companies are explored. With a focus on censorship, new light is cast on particular theatremakers and their work, the conditions in which all kinds of theatre were produced, the construction of genres and canons, as well as on broader cultural history and changing ideological climate – all of which are linked to reflections on the nature of censorship and the relationship between culture and the state.
Contents
Acknowledgements
List of illustrations
List of abbreviations
Introduction
1. The Evolution of Theatre Censorship in Spain from the 1830s to the 1930s
2. Un teatro de ida y vuelta: All Change and No Change in the Second Republic and the Civil War
Case Study: Santa Teresita del Niño Jesús, by Vicente Mena Pérez
3. The Franco Dictatorship: Censorship as ‘Propaganda’, ‘Education’ and ‘Information’
Case Study: La casa de Bernarda Alba, by Federico García Lorca
4. The Pervasiveness of Censorship during the Dictatorship: Right-Wing Triumphalism, Commercial Theatre,
Revistas and Catalan Theatre
Case Study: La Infanzona, by Jacinto Benavente
5. The Realist Generation: A Spotlight on the Margins of Society
Case Study: Escuadra hacia la muerte, by Alfonso Sastre
6. Experimental, Avant-Garde and Independent Theatre: Pushing the Boundaries
Case Study: Castañuela 70, by Tábano and Las Madres del Cordero
7. The Censorship of Foreign Theatre: From Taming the Text to Disruptive Drama
Case Study: El círculo de tiza caucasiano, by Bertolt Brecht
8. Dénouement: Dismantling the Apparatus during the Transition to Democracy
Case Study: La torna, by Els Joglars/Albert Boadella
Conclusion
Bibliography:
Archival sources
Legislation
Other sources
Index