Contributions to the Study of the Free Theater of Buenos Aires (1944-1947)

Abstract

Independent theater emerged in Buenos Aires at the beginning of the 1930’s as a way to produce and conceive a theater that wanted to renew the national stage by three means: breaking away from conventional theater, placing artistic objectives before economic ones, and by aspiring for a non-profit theater of high aesthetic quality. It was conceived as a collective and defiant practice in opposition to the status quo of the period’s theater, and as anti-capitalist, yet as a heterogeneous organization, while revealing itself as complex and rich in diversity. The article addresses a particular case: The Free Theater of Buenos Aires, created in 1944 by Roberto Pérez Castro.