Dramaturgy between science and politics : development in Western Europe from Brecht to the present day

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on the relationship between scientific ideas and politics in certain examples of twentieth-century Western European theatre. The twentieth century was a period of important changes in the arts, touching multiple disciplines such as: architecture, music, painting, and including theatre. The changes that occurred during the century, are to be explained due to a radical change in the conception of the arts thanks to Modernism. science and its ideas have acquired greater importance within the theatrical sphere, allowing theatre to establish new ties with them while strengthening the old ones within the political dimension, which has always been an object of investigation in theatre. Through the plays of playwrights such as Jean Paul Sartre, Alfonso Sastre, José Saramago, and Michael Frayn, this dissertation tries to demonstrate how the relationship between scientific ideas and politics contributed to understand the condition of twentieth-century man, including his role and responsibilities towards society.