On the history of the director’s theatre in Spain: “Medea” by Cipriano de Rivas Cherif in the Roman Theatre of Mérida (1933)
Abstract
In 1933, Cipriano de Rivas Cherif, one of the central figures of the director’s theatre
in Spain, presented the performance “Medea” based on the tragedy of Seneca. It was
hold in the ruins of the Roman Theatre in the city of Mérida (Spain). On the basis of the performance material the author attempts to characterize the specifics of Spanish directing
in the context of Spanish theatre history and the reception of foreign ideas in it. Attention
is paid to the cultural policy of the Second Spanish Republic, when the performance was
staged, in particular to the idea of “spreading the theatre” (extensión teatral). In the article
it is examined the process of creating the performance including the involvement of a large
number of rare sources in Spanish language. The critics reviews are analyzed along with
the visual materials. In the course of the study, similar things are identified in the Spanish
production and the productions of the Western European theatre. The performance is placed
into a wide theatrical context: from festivals in the ancient theatres of Orange, Syracuse and
Delphi to the concept of a popular theatre. The author also mentions the production’s life,
in particular – the tour in Mexico in 1936. Attention is paid to the A. Artaud’ s review to
the production.. In the context of performances based on an ancient plot, parallels are highlighted with the performance “Medea” (1961) by N. Okhlopkov, conclusions are drawn
regarding the specifics of performances in the open air.
Keywords
Spanish theatre, classical drama, theatre of the Second Spanish Republic, C. de Rivas
Cherif, M. de Unamuno, M. Xirgu, M. Reinhardt, J. Copeau, E. Palmer-Sikelianos, Roman
Theatre of Mérida.
For citation
Anna P. Sologub – Master of Arts (Theatre Studies), graduate of Russian State Institute of Performing Arts. E-mail: anna.asp23@gmail.com
ORCID: 0000-0001-5705-1333
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Received: 16.07.2022
Revised: 13.08.2022
Accepted: 15.08.2022