Philosophy and theatre, round trip. An approach to Juan Mayorga

Abstract

Although theatre has not been always considered among the main objects of attention of philosophy, the relationship between philosophy and theatre has been relevant. For several reasons: frequent reflection on the theatre by philosophers; philosophers who have written theatre; presence of philosophical questions in dramatic works; reciprocal influence of the two forms of writing. The work of Juan Mayorga is an exemplary one. His main influence, even more than Walter Benjamin, is Franz Kafka. The Kafkian heritage is manifested in Mayorga in two ways: formally, in the practice of an «ethic of theatrical writing», which attempts to eliminate any form of dogmatism from dramatic writing; regarding the content, through the omnipresence of powerfull/impotent intersubjectivity in its theatrical scene.