The Theater Of Buero Vallejo 1949-1969

Abstract

ANTONIO BUERO VALLEJO, AFTER TWENTY YEARS of continued success, is generally considered Spain's most important contemporary dramatist. He has confounded those critics who have affirmed that the Spanish theatrical public would not support a serious dramatist, that is, one whose aim was not primarily to entertain his audience. Since the now historic success. of Historia de una escalera (Story of a Staircase) in 1949 flung open the doors of a career as playwright to him, Buero, unlike other popular dramatists, has written slowly and carefully, having had produced only thirteen full-length plays and one one-act play. One or two others remain unproduced, while another has been recently published. It would not be amiss at this time to take an overall view of the work of this author who has added a new dimension to contemporary Spanish drama, to examine his works in order to see which are the dominant themes and ideas that have won approval from critics and public alike.