Spain's only national museum dedicated exclusively to the history of theatrical activity, the Museo Nacional del Teatro occupies a Renaissance palace a short walk from the Plaza Mayor at Gran Maestre 2. The collection spans theatrical life in Spain from its medieval origins to the present: costumes, stage sets, scripts, playbills, puppets, and portraits of actors. A significant section is devoted to the corrales de comedias tradition, with models, engravings, and documentation of the theatrical culture that produced Lope de Vega and Calderón de la Barca.
The museum has strong holdings on 20th-century Spanish theatre, including the work of Federico García Lorca. For anyone who has just come from the Corral de Comedias next door, the museum provides useful historical context — particularly on what Spanish theatrical life actually looked like in the 17th century.