La crisis del “teatrista ilustrado” en la escena argentina contemporánea

For decades there have proliferated discourses in Argentine theatre that validate the artist as a political, moral, and human guide. We call that referenced function “enlightened theatre artists” or “authority theatre artists” which, beyond any specific theatrical knowledge, has been assumed by many creators in Argentina, especially since 1930 in the independent theatre field. In this article, we propose three objectives: to characterize that function, trace its genealogy and solidification in the history of Argentine theatre, and examine the contemporary theatre crisis especially in the post-dictatorship period (1983 to the present) through examples from the works and thought of Leónidas Barletta, Griselda Gambaro, Ricardo Bartis, Javier Daulte, and Rafael Spregelburd.