Arrabal, Fernando (1932– ), French dramatist of Spanish extraction, who lived in Paris and wrote in French after 1955. His most characteristic vein derived from his very early plays, written before he left Spain, which were peopled by innocent, childish characters producing ferocious acts in the course of their naïve games. His oppressive upbringing during and after the Spanish Civil War was reflected in the plays that made his reputation, which portrayed a perverse childish revolt against established beliefs.
La Cimetière des voitures (written in 1957 but not produced until 1966) begins as a satire on suburban community living and ends in a blasphemous crucifixion scene on a bicycle; as
The Car Cemetery it was seen in London in 1969. In a prolific and varied output Arrabal ventured into formal experiment, as in
Orchestration théâtrale (1960), a play without actors; social criticism, as in
Pique-Nique en campagne (written in 1952, produced 1959, seen in London as
Picnic on the Battlefield in 1964), which juxtaposed banal family life with a military operation; and direct political comment, as in
Et ils passèrent des menottes aux fleurs (produced and then banned in 1969), an attack on Spanish political prisons, which, translated as
And They Put Handcuffs on the Flowers and directed by the author, was seen in New York (1972) and London (1973). Arrabal's most successful play, performed in translation in London by the
National Theatre company in 1971, is probably
L'Architecte et l'Empereur d'Assyrie (1967), a parable of civilization in which two men enter into a role-playing love-hate relationship on a desert island which ends with one eating the other in an attempt to achieve unity. His later plays included
Le Jardin des délices (1969),
Jeunes Barbares d'aujourd'hui (1975), a skit on cycle-racing,
Théâtre Bouffe (1978), and
La Traversée de l'Empire (1988). He himself has called his work ‘Panic Theatre’.
