Censorship, translation and integration in the theatre of the Franco era: José López Rubio, theatrical figure and translator

Abstract

[EN] Spanish theatre professionals were responsible for the integration of foreign theatre in Spanish stages in Francoist Spain. The role of theatre translators, or of Spanish playwrights-translators, has been seldom tackled, and the hundreds of versions of American or British plays are yet to be fully studied. This paper focuses on Spanish author José López Rubio, whose production, both originally written in Spanish and translated, has been thoroughly catalogued, using censorship archives as the main source of documentation. While compiling the catalogue it became clear that the number of translations signed by López Rubio is higher than that of original plays. This catalogue is analyzed and a specific case study is presented: the Broadway musical Man of La Mancha. This production saw its second world premiere in Madrid, with the aid of the authorities in charge of the Theatre and Cinema General Directorate, in the Ministry for Information and Tourism, who favoured a positive image of the regime abroad.