"La Transición" in Spanish Theatre: Memory, Disenchantment, and Critical Reassessment

As the 50th anniversary of the Spanish Transition approaches, it is essential to examine how theatre has engaged with this transformative period in Spain’s recent history. While the early years of democracy were marked by an urgent, testimonial approach to dramatising political change, subsequent theatrical representations have increasingly shifted toward critical reassessments, often shaped by memory and disenchantment. This article analyses the portrayal of the Transition in four plays written by playwrights from different generations: Buero Vallejo, Medina Vicario, Alfonso Plou/Julio Salvatierra and María Velasco. Through a comparative analysis, this study explores how these works reflect the evolving perception of the Transition, tracing a trajectory from immediate chronicle to retrospective critique.