Performing Spanishness : history, cultural identity and censorship in the theatre of José María Rodríguez Méndez

José María Rodríguez Méndez is a noted playwright, an acerbic cultural critic, and a political dissident under Franco. In Performing Spanishness , the first English-language examination of Méndez’s life and work, Michael Thompson sets the playwright’s lifelong struggle against censorship in the context of Spain’s shifting national identity. Méndez’s work presents “Spanishness” not as a static trait, but as an ongoing performance; Performing Spanishness is an indispensable resource to those interested in theater, Spain, and the relationship between art and activism.

José María Rodríguez Méndez is a noted playwright, an acerbic cultural critic, and a political dissident under Franco. In Performing Spanishness, the first English-language examination of Méndez’s life and work, Michael Thompson sets the playwright’s lifelong struggle against censorship in the context of Spain’s shifting national identity. Méndez’s work presents 'Spanishness' not as a static trait, but as an ongoing performance; Performing Spanishness is an indispensable resource to those interested in theater, Spain, and the relationship between art and activism.

"The analysis of Rodríguez Méndez's work from the late 1950s to the mid-70s is enriched by detailed evidence from censors' reports, providing fascinating case studies of the unpredictability of censorship under a dictatorial regime. Some of the most powerful plays banned during that time have been revived since 1975, and the book includes discussion of these influential productions. All quotations in Spanish are translated into English."--Back cover