Cross-Cultural Approaches to Theatre: The Spanish-French Connection

by Phyllis Zatlin

Overview

Although numerous books and articles discuss the interrelationships between Spanish and French theatre for such periods as the Golden Age and Romanticism, few scholarly studies explore the contemporary period. The cultural interchange between the stages of Spain and France has never totally disappeared, and indeed has at times had major significance over the past several decades. Zatlin provides a comprehensive view of these interrelationships, with emphasis on the 1970s and 1980s. It is based not only on related prior studies and on data from theatre annuals, but also on interviews with theatre people in both countries and on specific productions. The first section of the book includes overviews of Spanish-language theatre performed in France, Spanish theatre performed in French translation, and French theatre performed in Spain. The second section contains four chapters on individual authors with strong bicultural backgrounds: Emmanuel Robles, Eduardo Manet, Francisco Nieva, and Carlos Semprun-Maura. The plays chosen for analysis are rich examples of metatheatricalism and intertextuality in which literary or historical texts from one nation are reworked in the other language. With production photos and an appendix of English translations of play titles cited in Catalan, French, and Spanish.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810827295
Publisher:	The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Publication date:	04/01/1994
Pages:	270
Product dimensions:	5.74(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.73(d)

About the Author

Phyllis Zatlin, professor of Spanish at Rutgers University, has published numerous scholarly articles and books related to contemporary Spanish theatre and to cross-cultural relations between the Spanish, Latin American, and French stages. She is associate editor of Estreno, the American scholarly journal dedicated to contemporary Spanish theatre. Several of her translations of Spanish and French plays have been performed in London and given university stagings in the United States.

Editorial Reviews

Phyllis Zatlin's valuable dissection of recent intercultural relations between the Spanish and French stages offers a significant assessment of the assimilation of Spanish figures (playwrights, actors, directors), into the French theatrical scene, as well as the presence of French work on the Spanish stage.

New Theatre Quarterly

...well-documented...a useful tool for anyone interested in French and Spanish theatre...

Theatre Research Journal

Discusses the relationship between contemporary Spanish and French theater, with emphasis on the 1970s and 1980s, using data from theater manuals, prior studies, and interviews with theater people in both countries. Covers Spanish-language theater performed in France, Spanish theater in French translation, and French theater performed in Spain. Profiles individual authors with bicultural backgrounds, such as Eduardo Manet and Francisco Nieva, and discusses specific productions. Includes b&w photos. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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