Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Staging the Revolution: The Nosotros Theatre Group and the teatro proletario of the Second Republic

2017; Modern Humanities Research Association; Volume: 112; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/mlr.2017.0016

2222-4319

Ana María, Arias de Cossío, Dos Siglos, María del Carmen, Gil Fombellida, Rivas Cherif, Enrique Díez-Canedo, Federico García Lorca, Pura Maórtua, Ucelay See, Margarita Ucelay, El Club, Teatral Anfistora' In, Dru Dougherty, Maria Francisca Vilches,

Spanish Literature and Culture Studies

This article explores the importance of the agit-prop proletarian theatre and, in particular, the Nosotros group (1932-1934) in the attempt to define a new national identity during the Second Republic; it brings into the public domain fresh information, garnered from the censorship archives, and reveals the group's objectives and methods in the creation of a new type of theatre for a new Spain.The play, La peste fascista (1933), by César Falcón is included in an appendix as an example of the group's practice.It is no longer the private, personal fate of the individual, but the times and the fate of the masses that are the heroic factors in the new drama. Erwin Piscator. 1The so-called memory boom in Spain has led to an increased interest in the cultural output of the Second Republic (1931 -1936).This article contributes to this process and argues that the short-lived and largely forgotten proletarian drama of the period deserves a more prominent place in Spain's theatre history.Circumstances have undoubtedly improved since Miguel Bilbatúa lamented the difficulties associated with a comprehensive study of the theatre of the Republican period; although most of those involved are no longer with us and many of the playtexts have been lost, it is now 1 The Political Theatre, trans.by Hugh Rorrison (London: Eyre Methuen, 1980), p.187. 2 possible to consult previously inaccessible state archival material, and many newspapers and journals of the period have been digitized and made available online. 2 The censorship archives at Alcalá de Henares, important for what they reveal about the interactions of state and culture, have also proven significant for the preservation of several original works, which were submitted to the offices of the censors and which have long been considered lost.This article argues that archival work focused on the pre-Franco period is crucial to our understanding of Spanish theatre history, particularly given the ideological nature of canon formation under the dictatorship.Building on research completed by Christopher Cobb in the 1980s and 1990s, this article explores the importance of the agit-prop proletarian theatre of the Second Republic and, in particular, the Nosotros group (1932-1934), to the formation of an emerging cultural and political identity.Moreover, it brings into the public domain new information about their work, uncovered in the censorship archives, including the play, La peste fascista (1933) by César Falcón, which is included here in an appendix. 3 The article also explores the reasons why this group was forgotten and why it ought to be remembered. From Crisis to RenewalDespite radical political developments and the often problematic attempts to 2 Miguel Bilbatúa, 'Presentación.Intentos de renovación teatral durante la II República y la Guerra Civil (Notas para un estudio)', in Teatro de agitación política 1933-1939 (Madrid: Edicusa, 1976), 9-54 (pp.9-11).The censorship files consulted are held at the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (MECD), Archivo General de la Administración (AGA).All further references to censorship materials are from this archive.In the case of censorship files on specific plays, the full reference will be given when first mentioned.Subsequent references are to the same files and will not be repeated. 3La peste fascista.MECD.AGA, [21/05800].3 modernize Spanish society, most theatre in the early decades of the twentieth century reflected the largely unchanged value system and conservative views of a narrow section of the population.The mainstream theatre at the time was still dominated by the 'well-made play' and such names as Pemán, Arniches, the Quintero brothers, Muñoz Seca, Poncela and Benavente, and their often highly-accomplished, commercially-successful, entertaining fare. 4In this context, most Spanish theatregoers remained oblivious to the avant-garde developments in European theatre, although some 'racy' themes related to social and political modernization were staged -often in a mocking or flippant way -on the commercial stage.There were, however, some notable attempts at reform and innovation, including those of Valle-Inclán, Gregorio Martínez Serra, and Margarita Xirgu with Cipriano Rivas Cherif at the Teatro Español. 5 A more avant-garde minority theatre flourished in the cities, and the work of some of those involved would later influence the mainstream theatre, to some extent at least. 64 See Michael D. McGaha, The Theatre in Madrid during the Second Republic (London: Grant and