Translating Shakespeare under surveillance: censorship files as cabinets of curiosities in Francoist Spain

This article proposes a re-reading of the censorship files held at the Archivo General de la Administración (AGA) as a modern-day cabinet of curiosities, focusing on documentation related to the translation and staging of William Shakespeare’s plays in Spain under the Franco regime. Originally assembled to serve authoritarian aims of cultural control, these files now offer a rare view into the mechanisms of censorship, self-censorship, and translation practices. Drawing on examples from Richard III and Romeo and Juliet, the article explores how theatre scripts, censor reports, correspondence, and photographs collectively illuminate the interaction between translation, ideological compliance, and creative negotiation in a tightly controlled cultural environment. This study situates the AGA files within archive theory and performance studies, framing them as hybrid artefacts that challenge straightforward categorisation while offering critical insight into the historical norms of translation, theatrical adaptation, and reception in Francoist Spain.