DEL TEATRO EXPERIMENTAL AL NUEVO TEATRO, 1959-1975

Abstract

The article advocates for a history of the theatre in Colombia, one that refrains from partisan tendencies and ideological complicity. Starting from a bibliographical revision of literature on Colombian theatre between the late 1950s and the present, the article criticizes the emphasis on aspects that ignore fundamental elements of the activities of Colombian theatrical modernity, TEC and La Candelaria. As opposed to most of the theoreticians and critics, who locate modernization in the 1970s and ascribe it to the rise of what is known as Nuevo Teatro (New Theatre), the author suggests that the true modernization of Colombian theatre begins with the generation of La Violencia, around the 1950s. The professionalizing of theatrical activity; the shift in conceptions such as actor, the playwright, and the audience; the renewed political sense; and the reflection on scenic spaces are thus considered as a product of an experimental theatre that was in order between 1950 and 1975. In this sense, rather than initiating a great movement, Nuevo Teatro represents the end of the avant-garde.