Detheatricalization and Anti-Theatricality in Pessoa’s Static Theater

Abstract

The article proposes to broaden the spectrum of the approach to the plays written by Fernando Pessoa, especially the “static drama in one tableau” The Mariner, a text systematically associated by numerous scholars with the symbolist collective imaginary and the dramatic work of Maurice Maeterlinck. To achieve this, an attempt is made to reposition Pessoa's dramaturgy in the direction of the multiple tradition of modern and contemporary drama, in the terms in which this is outlined by scholars whose research in associated with that of Jean-Pierre Sarrazac, such as Joseph Danan, Mireille Losco- Lena, Jean-Pierre Ryngaert and Arnaud Rykner. Based on this critical-theoretical perspective, Pessoa’s pioneering role will be defended in relation to other European playwrights, who from the second half of the 20th century onwards contributed to broaden the horizons of dramatic writing in the West.