The current theater trends They are the result of the evolution that this branch of the performing arts has undergone in recent decades. Today there are a great variety of different aesthetic schools, without it being possible to establish which is the dominant one. Among the most prominent are those of surrealism, symbolism, the theater of the absurd or performance.
This does not mean that other more classical schools, such as comedy, farce, drama or parody have disappeared from the scene, although some of them have been introducing new stylistic and aesthetic elements to adapt to the new times..
Since the beginning of civilization, the theater has been part of the artistic expressions of humanity. It is an art with more than 2,500 years of history and that has evolved along with society itself..
The last great transformations took place with the arrival of modalities that left behind the prevailing realism until well into the twentieth century. Closer in time is the introduction of new scenic materials and the most modern technologies as part of the performances..
The theater of the absurd is a current of the theater that appeared from the 40s of the 20th century, after the Second World War. In this post-conflict context, its authors reflected the nonsense of a hopeless and destroyed world. The main theme is usually the absurdity of the human condition.
The main characteristic of this current is precisely the representation of the absurd, of situations without logic. The works, which sought to break with the classical theatrical tradition, are distinguished by sudden changes in the characters, by causes that cause effects contrary to logic and by a rhythm based on the emotional.
Among the most representative authors are Luigi Pirandello, Antonin Artaud, Dino Buzzati and Samuel Beckett, although among all of them the work of Eugene Ionesco stands out..
Ionesco, born in Romania in 1909, is considered by many as the great reference of this dramatic current. Among his most important works are The bald singer, The lesson Y The rhinoceros.
In this theatrical current, the emphasis is on the work of the actors instead of being focused on the staging.
The creator of the Poor Theater was Jerzy Grotowski, a Polish director who began to represent this type of works in the Theater Laboratory and who reflected his theories in the book Made a poor theater, from 1968.
Grotowski defined this type of representations as those that did not contain unnecessary elements to develop the staging.
Among those leftover items were excessive décor, makeup, or cluttered wardrobes. In some cases, this author even advocated doing without sound effects and overly visible lighting.
The fundamental pillar for poor theater is the relationship between the audience and the actors. These, lacking the aforementioned elements, must be formed in the expressive use of their body.
Some of the reference works were adaptations of Cain (George Gordon Byron), The tragic story of Dr. Faust (Christopher Marlowe) or The constant prince (Calderón de la Barca).
The capital of present-day Czech, Prague, was the place where this theatrical trend appeared in the 50s of the 20th century. Its main characteristics are the lack of dialogue, a set with hardly any lights and on a black background and actors who wear the same color. This leads to the fact that they can hardly be seen on stage.
Therefore, the viewer will only contemplate what the director wants to show clearly. A combination of music, dance, lighting effects and tricks is used in the works..
Despite the fact that today there are examples of this type of theater elsewhere, Prague is still its headquarters. The most representative work is Anthology.
Although it seems that it is a current type of representation, performance dates from 1916, at the same time as the Dada movement, with which it shares its claim to be an alternative to the art that until then prevailed..
The principles of this type of theater are almost the same as those of Dadaism: destroy the codes of the art world, promote individual freedom and spontaneity in the face of order..
The Dadaists were the first to perform performance, specifically the Cabaret Voltaire, in Switzerland. In these representations they mixed poetry with music, plastic art and repetitive actions.
The epic theater was developed by Bertolt Brecht (1898 - 1956), a German-born playwright and director. In this modality, the authors try to avoid emotional identification and bet on distancing.
The cause is the conviction that this distancing is more useful for the public to reflect and rationalize what they see. Among the most common themes in this trend are social issues.
Some of the most representative works are The three cent opera, Mother Courage and her children Y The Caucasian Chalk Circle.
The inspirer of this movement was the French actor and director Antonin Artaud, although it is a very heterogeneous current. In general, this current is opposed to realism and seeks to surprise viewers by showing them unexpected situations.
It is about leaving a mark among the spectators, even if it is with the use of verbal or physical violence.
Although Artaud did not get to publish any theatrical work, the influence of his theories was seen in Marat / Sade, by Peter Weiss. Other followers were Fernando Arrabal, Julien Beck or Judith Malina.
This current mixes two different currents within its characteristics. On the one hand, he opts for realism in the subject, but using a poetic language and with a lot of symbolism.
Although there are no theories of any kind about this theater, Federico García Lorca and Tennessee Williams are usually considered two authors who practiced it..
Examples of this theater would be works by Lorca such as Yerma or Blood Wedding, as well as some of Williams like A Streetcar Named Desire or The night of the iguana.
Among the most contemporary currents, documentary theater stands out. This type of theater has evolved a lot in recent years and tries to reflect events that are often real with an avant-garde aesthetic.
Born in England, this type of theater was very frequent during the 90s. Among the best known authors are Sarah Kane, Mark Ravenhill and Bernard-Marie Koltès.
These are very direct representations that try to explore the social reality of the time. Sometimes the story is close to post-drama.
An extreme example are some montages by the German Thomas Ostermeier, among which is one that pretends to cut the throats of the spectators.
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