Theatre in Madrid and Barcelona, 1892-1936

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.