Graham Greene's "The living room": an uncomfortable Catholic play in Franco's Spain

This article addresses the debate over Graham Greene’s "The living room" (1953) in Franco’s Spain, where theatre critics created a controversy over the play by questioning whether this Catholic dramatic work was heretical or orthodox. It was regarded as a cultural asset to the national sta...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Olivares Leyva, Mónica|||0000-0003-0190-408X
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2018
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Alcalá (UAH)
Repositorio:e_Buah Biblioteca Digital Universidad de Alcalá
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ebuah.uah.es:10017/61175
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10017/61175
https://dx.doi.org/10.28914/Atlantis-2018-40.1.04
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Graham Greene
Franco's regime
Theatre
Criticism
Censorship
Dictadura de Franco
Teatro
Crítica
Censura
Filología
Philology
Descripción
Sumario:This article addresses the debate over Graham Greene’s "The living room" (1953) in Franco’s Spain, where theatre critics created a controversy over the play by questioning whether this Catholic dramatic work was heretical or orthodox. It was regarded as a cultural asset to the national stage, but it was also interpreted as a threat to Catholics of wavering faith. In addition, this study uses the censorship files to examine the attitude of the Franco regime towards the play. Contrary to popular belief, Franco’s government did not favour the reception of this play despite the fact that Greene was an internationally renowned Catholic writer. On the contrary, banned four times, it ranks among Greene’s most censored works under Franco’s rule. The article concludes by suggesting that "The living room" became an uncomfortable Catholic play because it clashed with the tenets of the regime.