Prison Games: A Dramaturgy on Oppression
Abstract
This article presents a model for a course on contemporary Spanish theater focused on the theme of oppression. The course is structured around four representative plays from the 20th and 21st centuries: Condemned Squad (1956) by Alfonso Sastre, The Foundation by Antonio Buero Vallejo (1974), The Lost Children (2005) by Laila Ripoll, and Himmelweg (Way to Heaven) (2005) by Juan Mayorga. Although theater can provide important contextual insights, it is often disregarded in literary studies. This course allows students to delve into Franco’s dictatorship –one of the key periods in the history of Spain— in order to understand the different dynamics of oppression that operate during totalitarian regimes and in their aftermaths. The class challenges students by requiring them to create their own play on oppression. This experiential learning component stimulates students’ creativity and commits them to develop a critical position vis-à-vis the different nuances of such a complex and urgent theme.
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