‘The closures of the theatres in Golden Age Spain, 1644-1651: new documentation from the reign of King Philip IV’

Journal article

This article contains transcriptions and analyses of eight seventeenth-century manuscripts held in the Instituto Valencia de don Juan in Madrid. They relate to the closures of the theatres in Spain — the corrales de comedias — between 1644 and 1651. The documents are petitions from actor-managers, Catalina de la Rosa and Antonio de Prado, as well as the Villa de Madrid and the President of the Consejo de Castilla to King Philip IV (1621– 65). They shed new light on several aspects of the world of Golden Age drama including the softening of the authorities’ position with regard to the immorality of the theatre.

Authors: Thacker, J

• Publication status: Accepted
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Modern Humanities Research Association
• Journal: Modern Language Review More from this journal
• Acceptance date: 2026-10-05
• EISSN: 2222-4319
• ISSN: 0026-7937
• Language: English