Theatre in Madrid and Barcelona, 1892-1936

(Hardback)

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Between 1892 and 1936 Spanish society witnessed many momentous transformations, including the reassertion of a Catalan identity and the emergence of Barcelona as a major industrial and cultural centre. At the same time, theatre in Spain underwent significant changes as teatro poetico and the avant-garde challenged both the naturalistic and commercial theatres. Most discussions of these developments in Spanish theatre have tended to focus on Madrid and pay little attention to either Catalan drama or the contexts of theatrical performance. Theatre in Madrid and Barcelona, 1892-1936 examines theatrical practice in both cities and the relationship between them. Using contemporary newspaper reviews, it analyses the performance and reception of selected Spanish, Catalan and foreign plays against the background of political and cultural developments in the period and the growth of a specifically Catalan national and linguistic identity. Theatre in Madrid and Barcelona, 1892-1936 is an innovative account of an exciting period in Spanish cultural history and provides a detailed analysis of the artistic, political and linguistic contexts of Spanish and Catalan theatre before the Spanish Civil War.

Reviews

' ... Altogether up-to-date, his book offers a unique entry to significant issues in Spanish theatre history, many of which transcend the period his studies and remain current today.' (Bulletin of Spanish Studies 2003) '... This is a fascinating and timely work and clearly demonstrates the depth of artistic strength that sustained the theatre through the many developments of the time.' (British Bulletin of Publications on Latin American, the Caribbean, Portugal and Spain.) "An elegant volume. As the first comparative study of its kind, admirable in its attempt at objectivity, it should give rise to debate as well as future research projects." John London, Goldsmiths College, University of London, Medieval Literature Review, 102.2, 2007

Author Bio

David George is Senior Lecturer in Hispanic Studies at the University of Wales, Swansea. He is the author of The History of the Commedia dell'arte in Modern Hispanic Literature (1995) and many articles on modern Spanish and Catalan theatre. As well as co-editing Studies in the Commedia dell'arte (1993), Contemporary Catalan Theatre (1996) and two volumes of Catalan plays in translation, he is also Hispanic Editor of The Modern Language Review.