Da decadência à crise: o teatro brasileiro no contexto da modernidade (décadas de 1910 e 1920)

This study examines the discourse surrounding the “theater crisis” in Brazil in the 1910s and 1920s. It analyzes how these discussions reflect broader changes in society and transformations in the urban entertainment market, particularly with the rise of cinema and other modern forms of leisure. This study has three parts, the first of which contextualizes the “theater crisis” as a global phenomenon, examining how cinema and urbanization have affected the social and symbolic role of theater. The second section discusses responses to this crisis, highlighting efforts to maintain the symbolic power of theater, such as productions aimed at the elite, and adaptations to a more accessible model of “theater by sessions” inspired by cinema. The third section explores attempts to integrate elements of modern culture and forge a national identity in theater, with influences from modernism, Argentine theater, and Afro-Brazilian culture. This study argues that the modernization of Brazilian theater showed no abrupt ruptures, evincing gradual adaptations that reveal a complex interaction between tradition and innovation.