Roman Chalbaud: Critical realism in the Venezuelan theatre of the 1960s

This essay studies the plays of Roman Chalbaud during the 1960s in the context of the model of social democracy/petroleum initiated in 1958. Within the new Venezuelan theatre Chalbaud contributed a representation of urban marginality as a dramatic reality of social model. Chalbaud represents a break with the previous ingenuous realism and, therefore, is considered one of the initiators of a new period. For his dramatic writing, his design of situations and characters and his way of suggesting and making the country visible, Chalbaud is the most important Venezuelan playwright of the 60s. These works present themes, situations and archetypal characters seen in later Venezuelan playwriting.