Archivism and Anarchivism in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Produced by the Lope de Vega Theater Company at the Roman Theater of Mérida (1955 and 1964)

I will discuss the first staging of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar produced at the Roman theater of Mérida. In 1955, José Tamayo–head of the Lope de Vega Theater Company–mounted Julius Caesar at the city’s Roman theater and amphitheater. José María Pemán wrote a free Spanish version of the play in verse. The company’s style, known as “Tamayoscope,” brought entertainment to the people during Franco’s rule. In 1964, Julius Caesar returned to Mérida to celebrate the Festivals of Spain, the 25th Anniversary of Peace, and Shakespeare’s Quatercentenary. Though this Julius Caesar presented a positive view of the regime, it gave way to resistance to Francoism. To prove this, I will examine the archives of this Julius Caesar. I contend that these archives problematize the production’s propaganda. The 1955 archives endorsed the regime’s ideology; those of 1964 were anarchival. Archives are often regarded as officially produced documents which uphold hegemonic narratives and norms; anarchivism integrates archives into subjective and collective experiences. The archives of the Lope de Vega’s Julius Caesar reveal an anarchival dimension which positively impacted Mérida’s socio-political life.