Costa Rica Theaters
|
|
Click to enlargeIt’s a weekend and you are in San Jose You want something different from movies or club scene. Why not go to the theatre and watch a play? That’s what many Costa Ricans choose to do on weekends. It gives them a reason to laugh, cry and enjoy themselves by watching theatrical antics onstage. So why not join them and explore the different options that Costa Rica’s theatre has to offer? Ticos love the theatre. Opening the newspaper to the cultural section you’ll see the announcements for many different plays. However, be forewarned that quantity doesn’t mean equal quality. Most of the plays in small theaters in downtown San Jose are bawdy burlesque shows or skits.
They are called “sexicomedias” and feature scantily clad women in stereotypical roles, with fast flowing Costa Rican slang spanish that may be hard to understand, but then again, these plays are quite simplistic and predictable. However, it may be of interest to view what the tico public loves to watch, and what theater owners choose to show to insure packed theater halls. There are independent theater groups with alternative proposals. At the Fine Arts faculty in The University of Costa Rica you can see experimental professional theatre, and with the Compañía Nacional de Teatro or National Theater Company you can watch two different plays a year, although they don’t have a set cast. At the Atahualpa del Cioppo theater in Heredia, the National University Drama students also present their yearly projects and final exams, giving you yet another option to watch higher quality theater.
• The Costa Rica National Theatre
The 1897 National Theater is one of Costa Rica’s architectural jewels. This renaissance style is built in the style of the world’s best opera houses, just in a smaller scale. When large scale stage productions are in the works, the National Theater opens up for business. However, be prepared to go buy your tickets days in advance for international presentations, or you’ll risk missing out on the spectacles. Visiting the National Theater even just to see its architecture is worth it, so you can mix your visit of the grounds with ticket purchases for dance presentations, plays or the National Symphonic Orchestra presentations.
• Costa Rica cultural interest shows:
Although primarily geared to foreigners, these are good ways to get to see a bit of historical reenactment or just learn about what makes ticos tick, with the advantage of seeing it in English and being able to understand it. Visit the Pueblo Antiguo (Old Town) in the Parque Nacional de Diversiones amusement park to see life as it was in the colonial era. With actors in costumes and theatrical representations of daily life situations, you will get a glimpse of traditional Costa Rica culture. Just as well, you can take a coffee Tour and see life outside of the city and in the coffee plantations, with bilingual plays that show you the coffee production process in an entertaining and engaging fashion. The Little Theatre group is the only English speaking theatre company in Costa Rica and it puts on 4 yearly productions. This theatre group is located in Escazú, check on the weekly tico times newspaper to see if they are presenting something during your stay.
Here is a list of some of Costa Rica’s main theaters:
| • Teatro Nacional • Teatro La Aduana • Teatro del Angel • Teatro Arlequín • CENAC • Teatro La Comedia • Teatro Eugene O’Neill • Teatro Fanal • Teatro 1887 |
• Teatro Vargas Calvo • Teatro Laurence Olivier • Teatro Lucho Barahona • Teatro Torres • Teatro La Máscara • Teatro La Esquina • Teatro Melico Salazar • Teatro Giratablas • Teatro de Bellas Artes • Teatro Atahualpa del Cioppo |
