La Cena Criminal premieres a new season with its play A Corpse in the Louvre in a privileged restaurant: El Xalet de Montjuïc. Imagine sitting down to dinner in a restaurant with one of the best panoramic views of Barcelona and, suddenly, the evening takes an absolute turn with a murder in the middle of the dining room. That is the premise with which it returns to the city
It is a format where the traditional barrier between the stage and the spectator completely disappears. Over almost four hours, gastronomy, humor, and suspense intertwine in a participatory dynamic in the purest live Cluedo style, where attendees must follow the clues, analyze the suspects, and find the culprit before dessert ends.
Paris, 1956: A great artistic discovery interrupted by tragedy
The plot of this season places diners in Paris on June 28, 1956, a date that historically coincides with the World Cup in Sweden and serves as a backdrop for the setting. "Valérie invites many art experts and press to announce a new discovery in the art world. In the midst of all that, other types of scenes and stories begin to happen, and that main event ends up interrupted by everything that happens next," explains the show's actress about the starting point of the story.
All the on-site representation is carried out by two professional actors who display a dizzying pace in the room, playing multiple characters with constant costume changes and characterization. "I am a character named Valérie, an art expert and a very elegant woman; then I am Mari, the cleaner of the Louvre, and also a French policeman named Monsieur Treffoux," recounts the actress. And how do you manage to embody three such different profiles with only two people on stage? "Running a lot. I rush out within the justification of the scene, do all the costume and attitude changes I have to do, and reappear," she adds with a laugh.
But the cast does not end with the professional ensemble: the audience itself takes on up to eight of the play's characters. From arrival, roles are voluntarily assigned to several attendees, who are given a characterization accessory and a script with their lines. "Although they have characters, they don't have advantages to solve the crime. They have a script that they are going to read and interpret, but they don't have more information than the rest of the diners. They can be suspects while also being detectives, and they could perfectly be the murderer," clarifies the event organizer.
Respect for the dish, teamwork, and anecdotes in the room
One of the keys to the format's success is the careful balance between theatrical development and the gastronomic experience. The evening is structured into four theatrical acts interspersed with the three courses of the menu.
"While they are dining, nothing happens on a theatrical level; we let them eat in peace... except for dessert," the organization points out. During the theatrical acts, table service stops to focus attention on the plot. In contrast, when the dishes are served, the action pauses so that attendees can eat relaxed, discuss hypotheses with their team, review the physical evidence placed in the room, or jot down data on their investigation sheets.
This audience involvement generates unpredictable and very amusing situations during the performances. "I remember a lady who had a character who was supposed to be Italian, and she told us: 'The thing is, I actually speak Portuguese, can I do a Portuguese accent? I don't care if she's Italian, I'm Portuguese'," the actress recalls.
In other cases, the immersion is such that it disorients the rest of the room: "There are people who get so into character that, as conflicts progress, they address other participants and speak to them for real. At the end, the rest of the audience even asks us if that person was also a hired actress." So much so that one of the phrases the actors have to repeat most often during the night is a direct one: "Can you please read the script?" to redirect the improvisation and prevent the key clue from being lost.
From 19th-century theater to digital disconnection
Although La Cena Criminal began its journey in Spain in 2024, the formula has a background of more than 15 years of experience in countries such as Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, rescuing a tradition that was born at the beginning of the 19th century in English amateur theaters.
In the midst of the rise of true crime, mystery podcasts, and escape rooms, this proposal opts for live experience and human contact. "What people are liking the most is the fact that these three or four hours that you leave your phone in your bag, you live them in the present and share an experience with other people. You have a good time, you feel part of something, and you forget about screens and your daily life," reflects the project manager.
At the end of the night, each table or team must deliver a formal verdict detailing not only the identity of the culprit but also the exact reconstruction of the facts. "In the vast majority of events, at least one team solves it. And some even do it to the millimeter: they are able to reconstruct how everything happened step by step, people get fully involved," they explain. The winning table receives an official accreditation diploma and a thematic prize linked to the story.
In addition to the dates open to the general public at El Xalet de Montjuïc, the organization highlights the growth of its private passes. "We do a lot of corporate events because it works very well as a team-building activity, precisely because they have to form a group and try to decipher everything together," they conclude. Tickets for the new season in Barcelona are now available.