The Search for Innovation and Political Criticism in the Canarian Poetic Theater (1955-1974)

«Oí crecer a las palomas», by Manuel Padorno; «Cuatro estudios en negro», by Gilberto Alemán de Armas; y «Vladimir Mayakowsky (tragedia)-Koúmos», by Sabas Martín-Vladimir Mayakowsky

Abstract

This article analyzes three textual and stage milestones that contribute to outlining a schematic panorama of innovative theatrical activity in the Canary Islands; the three plays were also critical of the Franco regime between 1955 and 1974. The pieces chosen are Oí crecer a las palomas (1955), by Manuel Padorno; Cuatro estudios en negro (1964), by Gilberto Alemán de Armas, and Vladimir Mayakowsky (Tragedy)-Koúmos (1974), by Sabas Martín-Vladimir Mayakowsky. Indeed, they have in common that all three were performed and the texts have been preserved. The plays were also heirs to the avant-garde theater of the first half of the 20th century, and their creators searched for formal and linguistic innovation. They belong to the tradition of avant-garde poetic theater, which seeks to investigate new forms and bring the most contemporary and innovative poetry to the stage. At the same time, political criticism against totalitarianism and against the system that oppresses individual freedom is expressed in the texts. In all three cases, in one way or another, the texts also try to refer to the prevailing system. The weight of censorship during the Franco dictatorship probably conditioned these authors, who used various strategies to circumvent it.