<p>During the 40's the Catalan theatrical life was restrained, for —till 1946— the censorship did not allow any performance in catalan. In spite of this, secret activities, such as H those taking place in the studio of the painter Xavier Portabella, activities which have not been reported till today, were carried out. Xavier Portabella was acquainted with the theatrical circle of the pre-war period; his studio was roomy and many people used to gather there far conversation. The painter's friends could go to these meetings freely and many of them even had the key of his apartment. Since he belonged to that social circle, Portabella was persuaded to write a play,&nbsp;El caragol i la corbata,&nbsp;from which we publish a passage, preceded by an evocation from his friend Terri.</p>...

<p>The Catalan scenographer and theatrical director Fabià Puigserver has created more than a hundred scenographic and wardrobe projects, mainly for shows produced in Catalonia but also for ones in Madrid and beyond the Spanish border. Internationally he is probably best-known for his contribution to Víctor García's staging of&nbsp;Yerma&nbsp;by García Lorca. Fabià Puigserver stands in the first rank among those who have dedicated themselves over the past twenty years to the revival of the Catalan theatre. From the last years of the Agrupació Dramàtica de Barcelona (ADB) to the peak years of the Escola d'Art Dramàtic Adrià Gual (EADAG) at the present Teatre Lliure in Barcelona which he co-founded, he has collaborated in bringing up to date many dramatic concepts that go beyond the limits of mere stage decoration. This article penetrates into his prolific work through analysis of his popularity and achievements and measures the conclusions of critics against the author's own opinions of the material studied. This double review of all of Fabià Puigserver's scenographic work also constitutes an absorbing general reflection on the technique and theory of space, wardrobe and stage materials and contributes to the study of a fundamental&nbsp;piece&nbsp;within the evolution of the contemporary Catalan stage.</p>...

<p>When Pina Bausch took over the direction of the Wuppertal Dance Theatre in the 1973-1974 season, German ballet broke off in a new direction. Her work grew steadily more distanced from the dance concepts of classical ...

<p>In his book&nbsp;Federico y su mundo,&nbsp;Francisco García Lorca contends that the stage in his brother's plays “ ... opens up not only towards the spectator but towards an afterlife surrounding the stage”. Relying on her clase study of&nbsp;La casa de Bernarda Alba,&nbsp;Isabel Cámara seeks to show that this hypothesis is accurate and easily proven. In this particular tragedy, Lorca exchanges the stage direction Enter/ Exit in such a way that “Exit” acquires a double meaning: the one that conventionally corresponds to it and also its opposite. Concerning Poncia, Bernarda and Adela “Exit” not only signifies to disappear from the public's sight, but it also announces the “Exit” from backstage to the public stage. The confusion of the stage directions is in direct relation to the tragic tension of the drama, so that the confusion raises two phenomena; the union of the two dramatic spaces, stage and backstage, and the intense presence of the playwright/”director” in the climactic moment of the tragedy. The true protagonist turns out to be the stage and the dramatic space off-stage ar “outside”. At the end of the tragedy, the true protagonist turns out to be the stage and the decor of the initial scene through two of the main characters. It should be recalled that when the curtain rises, the stage is empty and silent. After Adela commits suicide, an event which takes place backstage, Poncia commands to Bernarda, “Don't Enter!”, and the final word of the drama, uttered by Bernarda, is “Silence!”. This inevitably recalls the space and silence which initiate the play. &nbsp;</p> <p>Cámara maintains that&nbsp;La casa de Bernarda Alba&nbsp;is unique among the plays of Lorca because the author has deliberately exchanged the signs of the stage directions, with the intention of offering the public a “mise en crise” of the conventional psychic and physical spaces on stage.</p>...