Dissident Bodies: Theatrical Countermemories of Spain's Transition to Democracy

Abstract:This article studies how independent theater in 1970s Spain challenges the hegemonic narrative of the Spanish transition to democracy as a negotiated and nonconfrontational process. Focusing on four case studies of highly successful plays, it argues that theater offered a space for dissent and for debating the process of democratization. Using archival material and oral sources, it proposes to study what Kate Elswit calls "archives of watching" from testimonies of actors and audience members in order to problematize the memories of the performances. Moreover, examples of non-textual theater studied in this article cast new light on the debates about democracy and participation in the Spanish transition to democracy.