Theatre Censorship in Spain (1931-1985)
Lead Research Organisation:
Durham University
Department Name: Modern Languages and Cultures
Abstract
The study of censorship is vital to understanding the relationship between cultural production and the state. In Spain during the Second Republic, the civil war and the dictatorship of General Franco, censorship of all media was extensively used to promote hegemonic political and moral values while suppressing alternative ideologies. Artists adopted a variety of strategies in response to these environments. Theatre, as a medium with the potential to make direct and immediate connections with society, was subject to particularly severe control.
Building on research already done by the investigators in this field, the project aims to carry out the most comprehensive analysis to date of how censorship functioned in Spain in different political contexts during the 20th century and the impact it had on all forms of theatrical production. The primary resource to be investigated is the collection of censorship documents held at the state archive in Alcalá de Henares, providing an invaluable insight into the operation of the system and its effect on theatrical activity. In addition to the censors' reports and correspondence on proposed productions and editions, the project will draw on a range of other sources, including analysis of all the relevant legislation and interviews with people involved.
The findings of the project will be published in a book co-authored by Michael Thompson and Catherine O'Leary. The book will analyse the censorship process in the different periods and provide detailed case studies to illuminate the complexities of the issues involved, taking account of the perspectives of both the censors and the censored. For the first time, the impact of censorship on the full range of theatrical forms - protest theatre, propaganda theatre, mainstream drama and comedy, experimental theatre and performance, classical and foreign drama - will be explored. Furthermore, the volume will enhance access to the primary materials for non-specialists by providing translations into English of key documents and examples.
The project is intended to stimulate further research by those working in Hispanic and European studies, theatre studies, cultural studies, history and information studies, contributing to explorations of issues of current concern in various disciplines, such as historical memory and identity, and the relationship between text and performance. Direct interdisciplinary links will be established through the organization of an international conference bringing together scholars and theatre professionals with an interest in censorship worldwide. It is intended that the conference will incorporate an element of performance as a focus for a live case study, and that selected papers will be published.
Building on research already done by the investigators in this field, the project aims to carry out the most comprehensive analysis to date of how censorship functioned in Spain in different political contexts during the 20th century and the impact it had on all forms of theatrical production. The primary resource to be investigated is the collection of censorship documents held at the state archive in Alcalá de Henares, providing an invaluable insight into the operation of the system and its effect on theatrical activity. In addition to the censors' reports and correspondence on proposed productions and editions, the project will draw on a range of other sources, including analysis of all the relevant legislation and interviews with people involved.
The findings of the project will be published in a book co-authored by Michael Thompson and Catherine O'Leary. The book will analyse the censorship process in the different periods and provide detailed case studies to illuminate the complexities of the issues involved, taking account of the perspectives of both the censors and the censored. For the first time, the impact of censorship on the full range of theatrical forms - protest theatre, propaganda theatre, mainstream drama and comedy, experimental theatre and performance, classical and foreign drama - will be explored. Furthermore, the volume will enhance access to the primary materials for non-specialists by providing translations into English of key documents and examples.
The project is intended to stimulate further research by those working in Hispanic and European studies, theatre studies, cultural studies, history and information studies, contributing to explorations of issues of current concern in various disciplines, such as historical memory and identity, and the relationship between text and performance. Direct interdisciplinary links will be established through the organization of an international conference bringing together scholars and theatre professionals with an interest in censorship worldwide. It is intended that the conference will incorporate an element of performance as a focus for a live case study, and that selected papers will be published.
Publications
Diego Santos Sánchez
(2013)
STAGING <em>LA ESPAÑA ETERNA</em>: RISE AND FALL OF THE NATIONAL-CATHOLIC THEATRICAL CANON IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE CIVIL WAR
in The Modern Language Review
O'Leary C
(2017)
Translating the armed struggle: Alfonso Sastre and Sean O'Casey in Spain
in Translation Studies
O'Leary C
(2012)
El teatro de Sean O´Casey
in ADE Teatro
O'Leary C
(2016)
'Irrpresentable en España': Fernando Arrabal and the Spanish Censors
in Journal of Iberian and Latin American Research
O'Leary C
(2016)
Global Insights on Theatre Censorship
O'Leary C
(2019)
From littérature engagée to engaged translation: staging Jean-Paul Sartre's theatre as a challenge to Franco's rule in Spain
in Perspectives
O'Leary, Catherine; Lazaro, Alberto
(2011)
Censorship Across Borders: The Reception of English Literature in Twentieth-century Europe
Santos D
(2013)
CENSURA Y (RE)ESCRITURA EN EL TEATRO DE CARLOS MUÑIZ
in Revista chilena de literatura
Santos Sánchez D
(2010)
La historia silenciada: el descubrimiento de América y la censura teatral franquista
in Neophilologus
| Title | 'The Case of the Rose Tattoo' by Jocelyn Clarke, directed by Tom Creed |
| Description | Dramatized reading and discussion linked to the project's Dublin conference |
| Type Of Art | Performance (Music, Dance, Drama, etc) |
| Year Produced | 2010 |
| Impact | Collaboration with theatre professionals and Dublin Theatre Festival |
| URL | https://www.dur.ac.uk/mlac/tcs/conference/programme/pubicevents/ |
| Description | Our outputs are making a significant and original contribution to understanding of the specific topic of theatre censorship in 20th-century Spain, and of broader issues of cultural control and the nature of censorship. Our monograph and shorter publications arising from the project will provide a comprehensive account of how the Spanish censorship apparatus functioned and how it changed in response to the social, political and cultural transformations that took place between the establishment of the Second Republic in 1931 and the consolidation of the transition to democracy in the 1980s. We analyse the criteria and language used by censors and show how they related to prevailing ideological and aesthetic discourses. We track the effects of censorship on particular authors, groups and genres, comparing different responses to the constraints imposed, and offer an overall assessment of the wider effects on theatrical activity. Our monograph will be the first to be published on this topic in English, and will be more comprehensive than existing studies in terms of both chronology (going back to the Second Republic) and genre (covering a range of different theatrical forms). A valuable benefit of the broad scope of our project is that it brings out the extent to which the impact of theatre censorship lay not only in 'headline' cases of the suppression of the work of obviously dissident writers and directors, but also in the everyday imposition of constraints on all forms of performance, including the apparently innocuous or conformist. Censorship was a constant presence, entangled with other cultural institutions such as prizes, festivals, criticism and public subsidies for the arts. Our most important conclusions will centre on the proposition that the theatre censorship developed in Spain during the 20th century was above all a system for the maintenance of discursive order. In addition to the suppression of challenges to hegemonic political and moral values, its functions were to make texts and performances fit conservative expectations of genre and decorum; to prescribe appropriate audiences and venues for different types of spectacle; and to limit unpredictability, ambiguity and improvization in performance, all on the basis of a supposed public consensus about social order, morality and taste. The conference we held in Dublin in 2010 as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival was intended to expand the scope and impact of our investigations, offering an opportunity to compare Spanish censorship with systems of cultural control in other countries. Our keynote speakers were prominent theatre practitioners: playwright Fernando Arrabal, British director Lisa Goldman and Nepalese playwright-academic-campaigner Abhi Subedi. Their accounts of their experience of combatting censorship in various forms were complemented by high-quality academic papers on historical and current examples from Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Poland, East Germany, Slovenia, Hungary and the UK. The keynote talks and a rehearsed reading of a play about the censorship in Ireland of Tennessee Williams's The Rose Tattoo were open to the public. A book based on the conference was published by Routledge in 2016. The editors' introduction and conclusion analyse comparative detail and bring out important insights into general issues. The data collection process included in-depth interviews with theatre professionals in Spain who experienced censorship at first hand. These relationships and other briefer contacts in the world of Spanish theatre have meant that our project has been brought to the attention of a range of influential people in Spain outside academia who are keen to tell their stories. We aim to obtain follow-on funding to allow us to build activities focusing on non-academic impact around the testimony of informants such as these, as well as events involving schools and the general public. |
| Exploitation Route | Academic: our documentation, findings and conclusions are making a significant contribution to understanding of theatre censorship both in the context of 20th-century Spain and more broadly. There will be an impact on future research and on undergraduate and postgraduate courses (in the UK, USA, Spain and elsewhere). Theatre practitioners: playwrights and directors whose work has been affected by censorship have shown that they are keen to have more opportunities to put their testimony on record - not only for personal reasons but also for the benefit of succeeding generations of artists and to make a contribution to public debate on freedom of expression. Our involvement of informants in Spain and at the Dublin conference supported their professional and campaigning activities. We plan to undertake follow-on activities in 2017 including an international forum for theatremakers to discuss current issues of freedom of expression in theatre and performance, as well as a series of performances of Spanish plays that were affected by censorship. Education: we are planning a follow-on project to develop performance-based workshops with schools, in collaboration with Theatre Sans Frontieres.. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | https://www.dur.ac.uk/mlac/tcs/ |
| Description | Dissemination activities aimed at schools and the general public have influenced people's views on the work of major Spanish playwrights. Work with theatre professionals in Spain, the UK and elsewhere has supported their actions in defence of freedom of expression. However, we do not have specific data to demonstrate or measure these impacts. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2011 |
| Sector | Creative Economy,Education |
| Impact Types | Cultural |
| Description | Dublin Theatre Festival |
| Organisation | Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Contribution to programme of 2010 Festival. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Publicity for our conference in Dublin in 2010; assistance with organization of rehearsed reading; participation in round-table discussion. |
| Impact | Rehearsed reading of a play followed by a public discussion on theatre censorship. |
| Start Year | 2010 |
| Description | Instituto Cervantes (Dublin) |
| Organisation | Instituto Cervantes Dublin |
| Country | Ireland |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Organization of conference in Dublin in 2010. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Provision of venue; payment of expenses for keynote speaker; provision of hospitality for public lecture/reading/discussion. |
| Impact | Conference; rehearsed reading of play and round-table discussion open to the public. |
| Start Year | 2010 |
| Description | NUI Maynooth |
| Organisation | Maynooth University |
| Country | Ireland |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Dr Catherine O'Leary of NUI Maynooth is part of the research team. She was the lead organizer of the conference held in Dublin in 2010. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Institutional support for Dr O'Leary's participation as Project Partner. Financial support for the 2010 conference. |
| Impact | Organization of conference in Dublin. Participation of Project Partner in dissemination activities - publication of articles, presentations at conferences, public talks, co-editing of book based on conference; co-authoring of monograph. |
| Start Year | 2008 |
| Description | O'Leary, 'Exploring Censorship' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An Foras Feasa/Department of Spanish Masterclass (Panel Discussion), May 2009, National University of Ireland Maynooth, organized by Dr Catherine O'Leary. Lively debate between researchers and members of the public. No details of impact recorded. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
| Description | Thompson, 'Arreste a los que aplauden: Echegaray y Benavente, dos autores para una sociedad' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Public lecture at Instituto Cervantes (London) as part of a series about Spanish and Latin American winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature organized by the Spanish Embassy. The talk included a reading of excerpts from two plays, and was followed by questions and a reception. The audience comprised members of the public of various nationalities, as well as members of staff of the Instituto Cervantes and the Embassy. Audience members stated that the talk had changed their understanding of two canonical figures of Spanish theatre (Echegaray and Benavente). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://londres.cervantes.es/FichasCultura/Ficha91194_22_1.htm |
| Description | Thompson, 'Lorca: Life after Death' (Manchester) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Public lecture at University of Manchester, linked to a schools outreach day. Audience comprised academics, undergraduates, postgraduates, staff and students from secondary schools, and members of the public (approximately 60 people). There were questions and discussion after the lecture, and a reception. Undergraduates, teachers and school students stated that their approach to the study of Lorca's theatre had been changed by the talk. It also resulted in enquiries from postgraduate researchers. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Thompson, 'Lorca: Life after Death' (Newcastle) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Public lecture given as a pre-show talk before a performance of the Théâtre Sans Frontières/Northern Stage production of 'Lorca: Amor en el jardín'. The talk was followed by questions and discussion. Audience members stated that their experience of watching the play had been enriched by the talk. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Thompson, 'Lorca: Life after Death' (Washington) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Public lecture given as a pre-show talk before a performance of the Théâtre Sans Frontières/Northern Stage production of 'Lorca: Amor en el jardín' (repeat of the talk given at Northern Stage, to a smaller audience). The talk was followed by questions and discussion. Audience members reported that their experience of watching the play was enriched by the pre-show talk. One member of the public contacted me afterwards to follow up a question about Lorca and to share documentation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Thompson, 'Lorca: Life after Death' (York) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Pre-show talk for St Peter's School (York), before their performance of Lorca's Blood Wedding. The talk was followed by questions and discussion. Adaptation of my pre-show talk for Northern Stage. Audience comprised teachers and students from St Peter's and other schools in the region (approximately 50 people). Teachers stated that the talk would change the way in which they teach plays by Lorca. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2011 |
| Description | Thompson, 'The order of the visible and the sayable: Theatre Censorship in 20th Century Spain' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | History of the Spanish and Latin American Theatre Public Lecture Series, Queen Mary University of London. Audience: academics, postgraduate students, general public. Discussion and reception afterwards. No recorded details of impact. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2009 |
| Description | Thompson, 'Theatre Censorship in Franco's Spain' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Invited KCL-LSE research seminar, November 2008, King's College London Productive discussion involving academics and postgraduate students |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2008 |