ON THE HISTORY OF THE DIRECTOR'S THEATRE IN SPAIN: "MEDEA" BY CIPRIANO DE RIVAS CHERIF IN THE ROMAN THEATRE OF MERIDA (1933)
In 1933, Cipriano de Rivas Cherif, one of the central figures of the director's theatre in Spain, presented the performance "Medea" based on the tragedy of Seneca. It was hold in the ruins of the Roman Theatre in the city of Merida (Spain). On the basis of the performance material the author attempts to characterize the specifics of Spanish directing in the context of Spanish theatre history and the reception of foreign ideas in it. Attention is paid to the cultural policy of the Second Spanish Republic, when the performance was staged, in particular to the idea of "spreading the theatre" (extension teatral). In the article it is examined the process of creating the performance including the involvement of a large number of rare sources in Spanish language. The critics reviews are analyzed along with the visual materials. In the course of the study, similar things are identified in the Spanish production and the productions of the Western European theatre. The performance is placed into a wide theatrical context: from festivals in the ancient theatres of Orange, Syracuse and Delphi to the concept of a popular theatre. The author also mentions the production's life, in particular - the tour in Mexico in 1936. Attention is paid to the A. Artaud' s review to the production.. In the context of performances based on an ancient plot, parallels are highlighted with the performance "Medea" (1961) by N. Okhlopkov, conclusions are drawn regarding the specifics of performances in the open air.