This doctoral dissertation explores the role that historical theatre played in the process of nation-building in Peru between the mid-nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. Local theatre’s dynamics mirrored the development of nation-building in this country. The period under study is of particular complexity in Peruvian history, and it allows us to understand the difficulties arising between the construction of the nation and the development of a Peruvian national identity. This research focuses on Lima, Peru’s capital city. It demonstrates that the historical dramas written in this period, even when not all of them were set on stage, sometimes conveyed a realistic image of the past whereas other times that representation was fictitious. These plays expressed the middle and/or upper classes’ national aspirations and ideals. Most play writers and the audiences that attended the plays belonged to the middle and/or upper classes and considered themselves as liberals. This dissertation also argues that Peruvian historical theatre only evolved in circumstances in which the local elites were filled by nationalist enthusiasm and optimism about Peru’s contemporary present and future.