Overview

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.

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9781841501345

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Reviews

""Thompson is able to reveal the more nuanced thinking of a subject whose work squarely addresses questions of where Spanish identity lies, taking against the perceived indiscriminate internationalism of the avantgarde to excavate Spanishness, whilst at the same time attempting to seize it from hegemonic and homogenizing discourses."" - Helena Buffery, Bulletin of Hispanic Studies ""Performing Spanishness can be considered a valuable contribution to twentieth-century Spanish theatre studies and a resource for those interested in debates on social and cultural history and Spanish national identities."" - Catherine O'Leary, Contemporary Theatre Review

Thompson is able to reveal the more nuanced thinking of a subject whose work squarely addresses questions of where Spanish identity lies, taking against the perceived indiscriminate internationalism of the avantgarde to excavate Spanishness, whilst at the same time attempting to seize it from hegemonic and homogenizing discourses. - Helena Buffery, Bulletin of Hispanic Studies Performing Spanishness can be considered a valuable contribution to twentieth-century Spanish theatre studies and a resource for those interested in debates on social and cultural history and Spanish national identities. - Catherine O'Leary, Contemporary Theatre Review

Author Information

Dr. Michael Thompson is a Lecturer in Spanish at the University of Durham. He is co-author of A New History of Spanish Writing, 1939 to the 1990s (2000), and has published articles and essays on various aspects of modern Spanish theatre, including the work of Garcia Lorca, Alberti, Buero Vallejo, Rodriguez Mendez, Martin Recuerda and Pedrero and theatre censorship during the Franco dictatorship. He has also published translations of plays by Buero Vallejo and Pedrero. He is General Editor of the Durham Modern Languages Series.

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