Even though being one of the most productive and influential dramatic scene(rie)s worldwide and for centuries, the Iberian Romance theater with its strong independent theater scenes on both sides of the Atlantic, seems rather under(re)present(ed) on today’s Non-Spanish/Portuguese speaking world stages, due to translation related and/or conceptional or other reasons.

It is not only its cultural-historical importance, but also socio-cultural relevance which prove its topicality to this day, including the world-famous baroque theatrum mundi realization by Calderón de la Barca, the centuries old transgressive Don Juan motive (Tirso de Molina et al.), the religious-political and performative dynamics of dramatic art itself (autos & Jesuit theater), and the socio-critical farsas (Gil Vicente et al.), entremeses (Miguel de Cervantes et al.), and (tragi)comedias (Lope de Vega et al.) of the Early modern period.

Since the 16th Century, societal ambivalences, and inequalities (incl. honor trade and patriarchal and suppressive mechanisms) are debated in actu on Ibero-Romance (text) stages, along with ethnocentric, decolonial, and memoria issues in (Pre/Post-)Modern Times (Federico García Lorca, Augusto Boal, José Sanchis Sinisterra et al.).

Therefore, the ISLA Theatrum Australi (TheAUS) project was launched in 2024 as a polyphonic forum and platform to discuss critically the relevance of "other dramaturgies” together with representees of the actual theater and performance world, inviting them to share their receptions and perspectives on a 'Theater of the South' via Talks, Workshops, and Collaborations.

E v e n t s   &   F o r m a t s :
 

• Augsburg Seminar on the dramaturgies of Berthold Brecht and Augusto Boal (Summer Semester of 2024)
• Lectures on Iberian Romance Drama Classics (Winter Semester of 2024/25)
• TheAUS Forum Talks (Summer Semester of 2025)