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'Other' Spanish Theatres: Erasure and Inscription on the Twentieth-Century Spanish Stage by Maria M. Delgado (review)

2004; Modern Humanities Research Association; Volume: 99; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/mlr.2004.a826850

2222-4319

Phyllis Zatlin,

Spanish Literature and Culture Studies

MLR, 99.4, 2004 1075 Salamanca. Gomez Sierra appraises two invented dialogues in Latin, one on Sacrobosco 's thirteenth-century Tratado de la Esfera, and brieflysurveys the content ofthe Reprobacion de supersticiones y hechizerias in an edition of 1628. Although the ideas may reflect,as the author observes, Ciruelo's 'racionalismonominalistaperfeccionado en el Paris tardomedievaP, the 'medieval' maw, within which all the studies present in the volume are enclosed, is here stretched to its very limit. The firstedition of this text, though, was in 1538, and the fact that it was published ten further times prior to 1628 testifies to the interest of the reading public. The seven contributions to this volume are, collectively, a testimony to the vigour of current research into medieval Hispanic studies. They are diverse, both in content and in presentation, but together they provide a basis for further debate. They deserve a wide and appreciative readership. University of Exeter Richard Hitchcock 'Other' Spanish Theatres: Erasure and Inscription on the Twentieth-Century Spanish Stage. By Maria M. Delgado. Manchester and New York: Manchester Uni? versity Press. 2003. xv + 336pp. ?17.99. ISBN 0-7190-5976-3. This ground-breaking book lives up to its title in various ways. It approaches the Spanish stage from the viewpoint of production history and performance studies rather than following the literary analysis of dramatic texts found in most earlier studies. AU six chapters examine theatre practitioners who were from Catalonia, Valencia, and Galicia, rather than Madrid, the city that has traditionally been con? sidered Spain's theatre capital. Three of the chapters focus on women actors and directors: Margarita Xirgu (1888-1969), Maria Casares (1922-96), and Nuria Espert (b. 1935). Xirgu and Casares made major contributions while living in exile?in South America and France, respectively. The acting and directing career of Espert and the accomplishments as director of Lluis Pasqual (b. 1951) are also examined from their international perspectives. The work of director Enrique Rambal (1889-1956) and the contemporary Catalan performance group La Cubana are appraised in terms of their highly popular inter- and meta-theatrical techniques. For theatre specialists whose knowledge of the Spanish stage is limited, there is much here that is new and illuminating, but the same is also true for specialists in Spanish theatre who have focused their attention primarily on playwrights. The chapter entitled 'An Author of Authors: Margarita Xirgu' provides the first important study in English of a key figure in the development of twentieth-century theatre in Spain, Uruguay, Chile, and Argentina. Xirgu was a brilliant performer who was well aware of modernist innovations on the European stage and should be considered on a par with Sarah Bernhardt and Eleonora Duse. By serving as Garcia Lorca's muse and mentor, she was instrumental in promoting this great poet's theatre both during his lifetime and after his assassination at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. During her thirtyyears of exile, she was influential in creating the theatrical infrastructures of the three nations of the Southern Cone. Delgado astutely conjec? tures that, had Xirgu sought refuge in France or Italy rather than South America, she would long since have been given a place of honour in the history of world theatre. The actor-manager featured in Delgado's second chapter, 'The Popular and the Intertheatrical: Enrique Rambal', is no doubt the least known of her six subjects. He premiered his productions in Valencia and, because his emphasis was on performance, not literary text, his contribution has been unjustly marginalized. Delgado carefully traces his enormous commercial success and his hybridization of theatre and cinema; she reveals how he anticipated current multimedia theatre practices. 1076 Reviews Although born in Galicia, Maria Casares achieved international acclaim as an outstanding tragic actress ofthe French stage. Delgado, however, emphasizes Casares's performances in Spanish: in Argentina in collaboration with director Jorge Lavelli, and in Spain, after the death of dictator Francisco Franco. She conceptualizes Casares 's career within the experience of exile. Delgado highlights Nuria Espert as 'Spain's international actress' (p. 132). She dis? cusses Espert's success as performer and director in other European countries and the United States, her collaboration with directors...