El nuevo teatro en su entorno: Elementos para su contextualización

Abstract

The 'New Spanish Theatre' is a little-known theatrical movement. It appeared at the end of the 60's, under Franco's dictatorial government, and marked a break from the previous generation called 'Realists'. It comprises different pieces of work by engaged authors excluded from the public stage due to various political and economic reasons. These were characterized by an avant-garde esthetics, close to absurd and symbolism theatre. Because they were usually neither played nor published, they often did not reach the public. Still, the youngest writers of the 'New Theatre' try to expand their movement through independent groups, alternative circuits or festivals. The audience attending the few shows was very different from those usually going to national and commercial theatre; they were searching for an alternative theatre, esthetically new and politically engaged. By these means, the 'New Spanish Theatre' hoped not to remain in the absurd state of "text theatre".

El Nuevo teatro en España es una tendencia literaria poco conocida; surge a finales de los años 60 bajo el franquismo y marca una ruptura con la corriente precedente predominante, llamada realista. Abarca las obras de autores comprometidos, marginadas del escenario comercial por varias razones -políticas, económicas, empresariales. Se caracteriza por su vanguardismo estético, que lo aproxima al teatro del absurdo y al simbolismo. Son obras que, en su mayor parte, permanecían sin estrenar y a veces sin publicar y que, por consiguiente, no lograban alcanzar al público. Sin embargo, los autores de Nuevo teatro intentaron difundir sus obras mediante grupos independientes, circuitos alternativos o festivales. El público que acudía a las escasas representaciones era generalmente distinto al que iba a los teatros comerciales y nacionales; pedía un teatro alternativo, nuevo estéticamente y políticamente comprometido. Gracias a él, el Nuevo teatro pretendía no quedarse en el estado paradójico de teatro de texto.