Theatre

A nation of avid theater lovers, Costa Rica supports a thriving acting community. In fact, Costa Rica supposedly has more theater companies per capita than any other country in the world. The country's early dramatic productions gained impetus and inspiration from Argentinian and Chilean playwrights and actors who settled here at the turn of the century, when drama was established as part of the standard school curriculum.

The streets of San José are festooned with tiny theaters--everything from comedy to drama, avant-garde, theater-in-the-round, mime, and even puppet theater. Crowds flock every night Tuesday through Sunday. Performances are predominantly in Spanish, although some perform in English. The English-speaking Little Theater Group is Costa Rica 's oldest theatrical troupe; it performs principally in the Centro Cultural's Eugene O'Neill Theater. The prices are so cheap--you could go once a week for a year for the same cost as a single Broadway production--that you can enjoy yourself even if your Spanish is poor. The Tico Times and Costa Rica Today offer complete listings of current productions and whether a play is in Spanish or English. Also see the "Viva" section in La Nación.