The eternal debate between the differences and the similarities between Barcelona and Madrid also arises in the theater. While the Spanish capital fills large-format venues and holds musicals such as The Lion King for more than a decade, the Catalan capital is characterized by medium- and small-capacity venues, where creation boils.
Isabel Vidal, president of Adetca, the association that brings together the theater companies of Catalonia, considers that the comparison is complex, “because they are two different models.” “In Madrid there are more large theaters with more than a thousand seats and there are also more public theaters,” she explains. The shows are contrasted to a greater extent with the public due to the aid system, therefore they can experience less, while in Barcelona there is a commitment to contemporary dramaturgy in Catalan and Spanish, which has a high level of risk and does not It is only in the hands of the public sector, because this bet is also made by the private sector. Consequently, Barcelona is ahead in number of playwrights”.
Vidal, who also directs the Focus group, with four theaters in Barcelona and one in Madrid, points out that some of the productions of theaters such as Romea when they go to Madrid are represented in public halls. In the same way that the National Classical Theater Company, directed by Lluís Homar, usually performs at the Romea when it comes to Barcelona.
The two cities are recovering very well from the pandemic and, at this point, the Catalan theaters already register an occupancy rate of more than 20% compared to last season. Vidal also values ??the improvement that the Generalitat’s Culture budget has brought. The figure has increased by 100 million. It stands at 1.5% of the Government’s overall numbers and is close to the 2% claimed by the Catalan sector.
María José Balañá, director of the Balañá group, also highlights the desire with which people have returned to the theater after the pandemic: “Many people from the metropolitan area and the rest of Catalonia come to the theater, especially from the Girona area, but not much of the rest of the state. In Madrid there is more public, because there are many people who go to the theater from other places in Spain, also from Barcelona. This is a piece of information that we can now track thanks to the purchase of tickets with a card”. Balañá compares Madrid with London or New York, where people who visit the city take the opportunity to go to the theater: “Madrid has a lot of visibility and in Barcelona we all have to row to achieve more.”
Daniel Anglès, who directs Barcelona’s Teatro Condal and has been the artistic director of Stage Entertainment with shows in both cities, considers that “in Barcelona there is a tradition of high-quality theater, authorship, creation and commercial at the same time, very transversal, because the private theater produces a quality comparable to that of the public theater. That makes us export talent. In Madrid, on the other hand, it is very separate. Apart from the big productions, the public theater is of a high quality, but there is also a lot of popular theater, more on the boulevard, which doesn’t work in Barcelona”.
Anglès confirms that “Madrid has all the public that comes from radio Spain and has managed to make the theater part of the entertainment for those who visit the city. On the other hand, Barcelona has a more international tourism, so that doing theater in Catalan or Spanish is indistinct because the tourist offer is more gastronomic and architectural”.
Regarding the musicals, Vidal refers: “A few years ago, the musical multinational made the strategic decision to do the musicals in Madrid. The reason is because there is a type of equipment that Barcelona does not have, it would need more Tívolis. On the other hand, in Barcelona other types of musicals are produced that are not franchises”. And Anglès adds: “Thanks to the large productions, Madrid has managed to raise the average ticket price, from what people are willing to pay to see a good show. In Barcelona that is costing a lot”.
The directors who have worked in the two cities observe a different attitude from the public. David Selvas, who directed The Importance of Being Frank at the TNC in Barcelona and is now at the Spanish Theater in Madrid (The Importance of Being Ernesto), sees it this way: “Madrid’s idiosyncrasy is different. People are on the streets, making plans and wanting to, and we have filled twice as many seats every day. People are more expansive and expressive, and that makes a comedy fly”.
“The public in Madrid, when they buy the ticket, have already decided to have a good time,” says Anglès. I know it is very subjective, but in Catalonia there is a more critical spirit. When the function begins, the public is thinking about whether they will like what they are going to see or not. In the end, if you like, it’s the same everywhere, but I do see a more festive spirit in Madrid”. The director attributes it to a different theatrical history in the two cities, marked in Barcelona by the appearance of leading Catalan companies half a century ago.
Catalan version, here
