Historia del Teatro Español. Siglo XX, by Francisco Ruiz Ramón (review)

Book Reviews • HISTORIA DEL TEATRO ESPANOL. SIGLO XX, by Francisco Ruiz Ramon. Madrid: Alianza, 1971. 544 pp. Compactness in this volume is successfully allied with an astounding amount of information and penetrating critical analysis. Although it is described on the cover as being the second volume of the history of the Spanish theatre, it is actually an independent work. The so-called first volume was concerned with a study of the national theatre from its beginnings to the end of the nineteenth century and was aimed at any cultured reader interested in the subject. The present survey of twentieth century trends has in view also the student of the period and is therefore provided with useful bibliographical notes. Lest what has already been said would seem to limit the perspective of the work, it should be added at once that the author sets his remarks within the framework of the Western theatre as a whole and therefore, granted a knowledge of the language, the book should prove equally interesting for those whose field is comparative literature. The opening chapters pay due homage to the modernization of Spanish dramatic art by Benavente and at the same time set forth clearly the limitations of this author and so suggest the reasons for the decline in his prestige in recent years. After glancing at the regional comedy of Arniches and the brothers Quintero and at the poetic theatre which Ruiz Ramon sees as literary balm intended to soothe the smarts of the generation recovering from the debacle of 1898, more congenial matter for discussion arises from what he calls the innovators and dissidents. These include Unamuno, whose passion for the schematic led him not only to trim the externals of setting and stage directions but also to reduce the dramatic intrigue to skeletal form. Valle-Inc1an is hailed as the most authentic revolutionary in the history of the contemporary Spanish theatre. His work culminates in the esperpento, which Ruiz Ramon sees as a rupture with the Aristotelian tradition of the Western 103 104 BOOK REVIEWS theatre. A less than enthusiastic judgment is passed on the Nietschean overtones of Jacinto Grau's heroes and a comparison is drawn between certain aspects of his theatre and the Swiss playwright Diirrenmatt. Finally in this group, the youthful experiments of Gomez de la Serna are discussed along with the failure of Azorin to realize his hopes of renovation of the Spanish stage. The second part of this important study comprises the writers of the period between the 1920's and the present. Naturally, Lorca occupies an important place here and not the least of Ruiz Ramon's contributions is his attempt to extract the authentic reality of this author's work from the encrusted shell of the myths that surround it. Both the political and poetic aspects of Alberti's work are reviewed while due consideration is given to the phenomenon of what the author terms the "theatre of redemption" of Salinas. One of the most impressive facets of this book is the ability of Ruiz Ramon to impart a feeling of continuity to the development of the Spanish drama of this period. Apparently disparate elements such as post-civil war comedy and the theatre of protest are given cohesive form. The study closes with a list of names of those who are seeking new means of dramatic expression and to whom,it is hoped, it will be necessary to devote a new chapter in the future. This hope is tempered by doubt when such instances as the long-buried theatre of Valle-Inclan, to cite only one example, come to mind. Ruiz Ramon has combined a comprehensive outlook, penetrating analysis and sometimes unorthodox, but always sound, critical judgment to his survey of this area of contemporary Spanish art. T.B. BARCLAY University of Toronto CHINA ON STAGE, by Lois Wheeler Snow. New York and Toronto: Random House, Inc., 1972. xv & 328 pp. $10.00. The memories of Lois Snow's five month visit to China in 1970 provide the basis for her discussion of theatre in contemporary China, but the subtitle of her book, "An American Actress in the People's Republic," and the prefacing quotation from...