The dialogue between theatre and politics : Gambaro, Pavlovsky, and contemporary Argentine society

The proposal of this thesis will be threefold: firstly, to study the phenomenon and structure of power in relation to Argentine drama during the period of the 1960s to the 1980s as exemplified by various works from two leading Argentine dramatists of this period; secondly, elaborating and specifying from the these works, to investigate certain determined manifestations of power, for example, discourse manipulation, hierarchies, violence, discipline, and torture, and the expression and presentation of these manifestations of power in dramatic form; thirdly, I will analyze the relation between political theatricality and power, and the reflections of this phenomenon in the chosen plays. The four elements which will be the focus of this thesis, and in many ways, will help weave the chapers together are: 1) Internalization of the Master's Discourse 2) Process and Effects of Torture 3) Evolution of Space 4) Metatheatricality These elements are found in all the chapters, even though, some with a more discernable presence than others. Through the discussion of the plays and these four elements I hope to construct an investigation which illuminates the process and relationship between theatre and politics.Arts, Faculty ofFrench, Hispanic, and Italian Studies, Department ofGraduat