Farsa en el teatro costarricense de fines del siglo XX: Pagura, Cerdas e Istarú

This article examines the evolution of comic modes in three plays from late twentieth-century Costa Rican theatre, with particular attention to the genre of farce and its critical function. Through the analysis of Culopatía de Estado or “My Kingdom for an ass” by the Teatro Quetzal collective, as well as Ana Istarú’s plays Baby boom en el paraíso and Hombres en escabeche, the study explores the relationship between humorous representation and political, ideological, and gender critique. Adopting a semiotic-discursive approach, it highlights parody and the performative use of theatrical language. The argument advanced is that farce enables the interrogation of political power and patriarchal norms through satirical strategies and non-realist structures. Among the key findings is the assertion that comic discourse operates as a vehicle for social criticism by symbolically degrading figures of authority, deconstructing dominant cultural models, and foregrounding subaltern female subjectivities. Our paper concludes that, despite the institutional decline of theatre, a tradition of scenic resistance endures —one that blends humour, formal experimentation, and an ethical commitment to transforming social awareness.