Spanish Theater After the Civil War: 1940s Trends
Spanish Theater After the Civil War
The post-war Spanish theater was not as innovative as European theater, primarily due to commercial constraints (companies were subject to the tastes of a bourgeois public) and political conditions (limitations due to censorship).
On the one hand, in the theater of the post-war era, authors thrived with “fun” trivial or conformist works. On the other hand, “serious” authors found it difficult to break into commercial theater and did so in independent test theaters. We can talk of a “visible” theater and an “underground” theater.
As in other genres, the Civil War was a deep cut for the course of Spanish theater. After the war, some authors had died (Valle Inclán, Lorca…), others were in exile (Casona, Alberti, Aub…), and others continued to write works of little interest (Benavente, Arniches…).
Two Types of Post-War Theater
- Official Theater: Directed to an audience akin to the political system: the bourgeoisie.
- Unofficial Theater: Developed by small associations, university classrooms, i.e., unofficial areas.
Main Stages of Post-War Theater
In the post-war theater, a few trends parallel those observed in the novel and poetry can be recognized. The main stages are:
- During the 1940s and part of the 1950s, post-traditional trends prevailed, although a search for other ways, such as existential theater, was noticeable.
- In the mid-1950s, a realistic and social theater of testimony and reporting purposes emerged, to the extent permitted by censorship.
- In the 1960s and early 1970s, as in the novel, the exhaustion of social realism could be seen, and an experimental theater emerged with strong criticism, often “buried.”
Theater of the 1940s
The theater of this period represents the sign of the economic misery of the country in general.
It is a propaganda theater disseminated by the ideology of the regime and will throughout the period of Franco. It is aimed at a bourgeois, wealthy audience related to the regime.
In the production of Spanish authors in the 1940s and early 1950s, commercial theater still imposed itself. The following trends can be indicated:
High Comedy
This stage is characterized by:
- Dominance of drawing-room comedy with luxurious interiors that correspond to the social class of the characters to which it is addressed, the wealthy bourgeoisie, sometimes with a gentle critique of customs.
- It is an elusive theater for the viewer to forget the problems and misery.
- It is a continuous theater.
- It can be considered a militant Falangist theater.
- It is a theater with no depth, inconsequential in ideas and approaches.
- A “rose-tinted” theater, where human relations are discussed.
- Traditional values are defended: honesty, loyalty, ordered love…
- The topics covered are varied, but above all, love, with happy endings.
- In terms of technique, it is concerned with well-built works, careful dialogue, and a traditional structure with slight innovation.
Comic Drama
Many works of little value. Poncela and Miguel Mihura stand out.
Poncela
Poncela was a precursor of the theater of the absurd in its humorous side. His works are characterized by the ingenuity of their implausible arguments and absurd situations. Examples include “Eloisa Was Sitting Under an Almond Tree” and “The Thieves Are Honest.” His theater is very close to the conservative ideals of the time.
Mihura
Mihura is the first figure of the Spanish comic theater after the war. His works are filled with humor, tenderness, poetry, and imagination. They noted a dissatisfaction and a clash between the individual and society.
Theater Renewal
This is a theater with a grave tone, maverick, and existential. Existential and social concerns dominate. An example is “Historia de una Escalera” by Buero Vallejo.