Other Current Spanish Playwrights

Other Current Spanish Playwrights

Lope de Vega* is not writing in isolation and many of his comtemporaries are very well known at this time. We no longer hear much about them but the best known are:

Guillen de Castro y Bellvis* (1569-1631) - a friend of de Vega and best known for his play, Las Mocedades del Cid* or The Youthful Adventures of the Cid which will provide the basis for the great French playwright, Corneille*'s play, Le Cid*. He also dramatizes parts of Don Quixote* by Cervantes*.

Tirso de Molina* (c. 1584-1648) - a friar who writes about 400 plays (we have about 80 now) before the Council of Castile makes him give it up (in 1625.) He is best known now for El Burlador de Sevilla* (The Trickster of Seville) which provides the first theatrical work of the Don Juan* story.

Juan Ruiz de Alarcon* (c. 1581-1639) - a government worker born in Mexico who writes about thirty plays. He is a lot picker about the quality of his plays which deal mostly with court life in Madrid. He does more with characterization and moral sentiment than his contemporaries.

In Italy, at Vincenza, the Teatro Olimpico* finally opens with a production of Oedipus Rex* designed by Angelo Ingegneri*. There is enough information preserved about this production to recreate it today.

In England the famous actor, Edward Allyen* (1566-1626) becomes head of the Lord Chamberlain's Men* who are currently touring with the Lord Admiral's Men*. William Shakespeare* (1564-1616) leaves his home in Stratford* headed for London theatre.

1586 - This year marks the beginning of Kabuki* theatre in Japan but nobody in Europe knows it.

This year also brings official licensing of women on the stage in Spain. 1587 Mary* Queen of Scots is finally executed.

There are Portuguese missionaries throughout Japan. The English send a colonizing group to Virginia (remember Jamestown?) but it vanishes so

they look to Ireland for room to colonize. 1588 The Spanish Armada* - This is the turning point for relations between England and

Spain. The Spanish have had enough of English interference and opposition what with that support of the rebel Dutch, excursions and colonial aspirations in the New World, opposing the Counter Reformation and generally being a thorn in their side. The Spanish decide to invade England with an army from the Netherlands and the Spanish fleet from Cadiz (which Francis Drake* made a terrific dent in the year before.) After several setbacks the Spanish Armada* gets under way in July with some 131 big ships and many small ones. From Plymouth the English spot the Spanish coming through the English Channel and the 80 ships of the English fleet sail out to meet them. What with greater maneuverability and bigger guns, the English drive them into a spot where they can send fire ships among them. This leads to a chase in which all of the Spanish ships are damaged. The Spanish try to sail around the British Isles through the North Sea, running into storms and wrecking on the various coasts of Norway, Scotland and Ireland. They limp home having lost 63 ships to England's none. Spanish prestige and power are damaged beyond repair and Spain never recovers. From here on out the English are upwardly mobile in the international power game. A boost in national pride and economy is also a boost for the English theatre.