ABSTRACT
No discussion of Spanish theatre since 1960 can begin without reference to events a quarter of a century before, for the triumph of Franco at the end of the bitterly contes ted Civil War (1936-9) marked the beginning of a political and artistic repression that would last until his death in 1975. The cold-blooded murder of Federico Garda Lorca by Franeo sympathizers in the summer of 1936 can be seen, indeed, as highly prophetie of the years of intolerance that lay ahead for all writers and theatre exponents other than those who toed the official line. On the one hand, the political, economic and social conditions of the Franeo years, with their grinding poverty and social injustice, were those most calculated to inspire drama, in particular a drama of protest and opposition. On the other hand, a ruthless official censorship, lack of resources and a virtual absence of opportunity were the realities with which prospective dramatists were obliged to contend. Given these circumstances, the fact that so much drama of such high quality was written and performed in Spain, not least between 1960 and 1975, is quite remarkable.
