Argentine Theatre in Twenty-first Century Barcelona: Cultural Exchange and (Trans)national Identities.

Abstract

This thesis examines the impact of Argentine theatre on Barcelona’s stage culture in the twenty-first century. Catalan theatre is caught up in conflicting cultural discourses that centre on the relation between language, politics and identity, tensions further compounded by globalisation and changing patterns of migration. Although publications in this field demonstrate the complexity of the inter-relationship of theatre to cultural identity (as with Sharon Feldman, In the Eye of the Storm [Bucknell University Press, 2009]; Maria Delgado, ‘Other’ Spanish Theatres [Manchester University Press, 2004]; Lourdes Orozco, Teatro y política en Barcelona (1980-2000) [Asociación de Directores de España, 2007]; Helena Buffery, Shakespeare in Catalan [University of Wales Press, 2007] etc.), there remains a need to articulate Catalan theatre’s relationship with its Hispanic “others” in terms that move beyond the separatism of the language binary. The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate how the presence of Argentine theatre allows for intercultural encounters that are built around the concept of mutual exchange. By drawing on an extensive range of cultural theory, the thesis sets out to explain both the extent and limitations of this exchange, focussing in on concepts of identity, gender and nation. The thesis is split into three sections: the first engages with existing debates and examines the historical development of cultural and theatre connections between Buenos Aires and Barcelona; the second looks at the aspects of infrastructure which have most clearly helped to facilitate the contemporary link: the Sala Beckett, international festivals, Focus and the Teatre Lliure; the third takes Javier Daulte, Victoria Szpunberg, Rafael Spregelburd and Rodrigo García as four indicative case studies to demonstrate the range of influence and practice. The conclusion examines the legacy of the Argentine-Catalan theatre link, drawing together the insights gained into modes of identification and cultural practices associated with theatre in Barcelona.