Children's and youth theatre in catalan (1974-1984)

Joan Barceló or the power of fantasy

Abstract

The writer Joan Barceló (1955–1980) was one of the emerging young talents who transformed the children’s and young adult literature of his time. Barceló wrote three plays: Científicament s’ha demostrat... (1977), Viatge enllunat (1981) and Olor de cebes (1984). The present article places his work in a renewal framework of children’s and youth theatre in Catalan in the late 1970s and early 1980s, especially by means of the theatre cycles “per a nois i noies” (for boys and girls) run by the magazine Cavall Fort. The article examines a small corpus of original works by six of Barceló’s contemporaries: Joaquim Carbó, Josep Maria Carandell, Joana Raspall, Joan Ballester, Martí Olaya, and Jaume Batiste. Specifically, it focuses on the lessons and experiences that these plays provide, the imaginary and fantasy spaces in which they are set, and the exemplary heroes and the poor role models they offer. Finally, the article analyses Barceló’s three works in greater depth, comparing them with those of his contemporaries, showing that their originality lies in the marked politically revolutionary fantasy, in line with the poetics supported by Gianni Rodari in his Grammatica della fantasia (1973).