De Wilde to Brecht: the big theater premieres of the week

Now we can finally say it: the Grec Festival has already begun its 50th edition. Fifty years of theater, culture, and magic that, this summer, will once again be the protagonists on the stages of the city's theaters and spaces. On this week's billboard, we find very prominent premieres ranging from Oscar Wilde, to Shakespeare, passing through Bertolt Brecht; authors who are adapted in our country by playwrights and directors of the stature of Àlex Rigola, Marc Rosich or Marta Pazos, among others.

Welcome to a new edition of our benchmark performing arts festival: Grec 2026.

1. The Picture of Dorian Gray at Teatre Romea

From June 30 to August 2.

The Teatre Romea premieres this week one of the season's big highlights. It is an authentic tour de force for the great Àngels Gonyalons, who steps into the shoes of Oscar Wilde himself to defend his work from the attacks of the critics of the time. Through the actress's voice, we will see all the characters of the famous novel parade: from the young and envious Dorian Gray to the painter Basil, the young Sybil Vane and, above all, the depraved dandy Lord Henry, who will accompany him on his dark descent into hell.

With dramaturgy and direction by Marc Rosich, the show is conceived as a chamber piece where the word merges perfectly with the original music by Jordi Cornudella, performed by a string quintet and a male vocal trio. The cult of image, narcissistic individualism, and the unhealthy obsession with eternal youth found in the classic text connect directly with current society.

2. FACTORY (A Midsummer Night's Dream) at the Heartbreak Hotel

From June 24 to July 31, 2026.

Director Àlex Rigola presents a totally free proposal within the framework of the Grec: he takes William Shakespeare's most magical comedy and transports it directly to 1960s New York, specifically to Andy Warhol's Factory. The parallel is brilliant: that forest of chaos, fairies, and goblins where lovers got lost in the Shakespearean world, is transformed here into a den of counterculture, creative freedom, and underground madness.

The work invites us to enter a fascinating world where an Andy Warhol devoured by jealousy towards his lover Billy Name, a faithful Edie Sedgwick, a Gerard Malanga who envelops everything with forbidden substances, and the members of the Velvet Underground seeking their definitive performance coexist. An immersive experience that makes us travel back in time to demonstrate that Shakespeare's rebellious spirit perfectly fits with the most radical pop modernity.

3. The Threepenny Opera at the Teatre Grec

From June 29 to July 1, 2026.

A historical and essential event at the Montjuïc amphitheater: the Teatre Grec presents a new and anticipated production of The Threepenny Opera, the classic by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill. This production is one of the great cultural events of the year, as it is a co-production with the Teatre Lliure intended to commemorate the 50th anniversary of both institutions. Under the stage direction of Marta Pazos, the musical direction of Dani Espasa, and the translation by Marc Rosich, the work immerses us in the underworld of a miserable London where criminals, beggars, and corrupt police fight to survive.

The well-known criminal Mackie the Knife secretly marries Polly Peachum, unleashing the fury of her father, the king of the city's usurers. This fierce and satirical x-ray of capitalism and institutional lack of morality demonstrates that, since interwar Berlin, it has not lost an ounce of its shocking relevance.

4. The Number Sixteen of the Major Arcana at Sala Beckett

From July 1 to August 2, 2026.

Sala Beckett presents the latest creation by Oriol Puig Grau, the resident playwright of the 2025/26 season, with a title that already exudes mystery: The Number Sixteen of the Major Arcana. The text delves into the territory of La Varda, a clearing where all kinds of parties were held until the owner, a woman of Russian origin, died, leaving a lot of unanswered questions in the air.

Everything changes when a journalist starts pulling the thread of these mysterious celebrations to write an article. From here, the memory of the house suddenly awakens to illuminate a solar system where from magicians and hippies to deserters of the former USSR orbit. Puig Grau once again demonstrates his talent for constructing poetic universes where fiction serves to speak of loss, marginal bonds, and latent memories.

5. The Dogs' Tavern at Sala Fénix

From July 3 to July 12, 2026.

If you are looking for a proposal with a strong social component but tinged with much tenderness and humor, Sala Fénix has the best option on its billboard with The Dogs' Tavern. The company Pecado Tarambana invites us to sit at a bar where anything can happen. It is a bittersweet portrait of the life of our neighborhoods, the feeling of community, and the fragility of local economies.

The story follows Antonio, the owner of a quiet tavern who sees his routine completely disrupted when a group of activists from the Tenants' Union sets up a camp right in front of his establishment to try to stop an eviction. With the complicity of Manolo, his most loyal customer, Antonio will begin to fix the world and face the great dilemmas of the country (and those of his own life) without moving from the modest bar.

This week's theater in Barcelona is full of proper names, high-level productions, and stories that aim to shake us and move us at the same time. This Grec... let's fill the seats!