We find ourselves in the final week of September and the first week of October, a time of year when the theatre season is already running at full throttle. The Teatre Nacional de Catalunya raises its curtain, doing so with two productions set to pack both the Sala Gran and the Sala Petita. Meanwhile, the Lliure premieres a new production staged by its director, Julio Manrique, and penned by eight prominent names in Catalan theatre, including Ivan Benet, Sergi Pompermayer, and Cristina Genebat.
Yet there are many more openings: the Sala Fènix, the Sala Versus Glòries, and the Teatre Apolo are also unveiling new productions this week that promise to stir consciences. A fresh theatrical week gets underway!
Bouvetøya at Teatre Lliure
Until 25 October 2026
The Espai Lliure in Montjuïc hosts another season premiere with Bouvetøya, a staging directed by Julio Manrique that runs until 25 October 2026. Written collaboratively by eight hands – Ivan Benet, Cristina Genebat, Sergi Pompermayer, and Manrique himself – during lockdown, the play originally opened at the Temporada Alta Festival under strict capacity curbs. It is now revived, rewritten, and remounted to mark the 50th anniversary of the Teatre Lliure.
The piece is presented as an ode to friendship, theatre, and hope for the future, making the case for the necessity of finding a sanctuary or an island where art can transform reality, particularly in the darkest hours. This return to the Barcelona stage reaffirms the company's commitment to collective creation and the evocative power of the performing arts.
El cadell at the TNC
From 30 September 2026 to 1 November 2026
Josep Maria Miró, winner of the National Dramatic Literature Award, returns to the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya with El cadell, a production running from 30 September 2026 to 1 November 2026. The author behind acclaimed hits such as Fum and Temps salvatge explores a new text delving into power dynamics, family legacy, and identity.
The plot unfolds in a traditional Catalan masia, where the burden of heritage and the perpetuation of the family name rest upon the heir, known as the Cadell. Beneath this façade of immutable order, however, the play reveals that it is truly the women of the household who preserve the memory, govern daily life, and sustain the power structures of this closed family world.
El Gran Inquisidor at Teatre Goya
From 1 October 2026 to 11 October 2026
Actor and director Lluís Homar leads El Gran Inquisidor, a production playing at Teatre Goya from 1 October 2026 to 11 October 2026. The performance adapts the celebrated chapter from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel The Brothers Karamazov, pairing it live with music for two pianos by Bach and Olivier Messiaen, performed by the Piano Duo Brugalla & Stambolov.
Set in 16th-century Seville at the height of the Inquisition, the story depicts the return of Christ and his subsequent arrest on the orders of the Grand Inquisitor, who subjects him to an extended monologue on control and servitude. The spiritual figure’s silence before political authority is countered through the resonance of the pianos.
Songe at the TNC
From 1 October 2026 to 2 October 2026
The Teatre Nacional de Catalunya hosts Songe on 1 and 2 October 2026, a production directed by Marcial Di Fonzo Bo intertwining William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream with Federico García Lorca’s Play Without a Title. The staging blends dreamlike language, video, and visual nods to Goya’s work to examine the boundaries between intimacy and politics.
The production arrives in Barcelona courtesy of the Académie Européenne – Angers, an experimental, multilingual company bringing together young European artists across disciplines including dance, circus, acting, and performance. The piece uses the meeting and parting of two couples of lovers to reflect on desire and the very nature of theatre.
Un refugio al sol at Sala Versus Glòries
From 26 September 2026 to 1 November 2026
The Sala Versus Glòries presents Un refugio al sol from 26 September 2026 to 1 November 2026, a generational musical set in the countryside that explores the construction of queer identity. The storyline centres on Kai and Aria, two sibling artists whose venture is on the verge of a major breakthrough. When Kai suddenly vanishes ahead of a pivotal festival, he seeks refuge at Mas Soler, the family home in the Pallars region, where his godmother Dolors awaits him.
Through a dialogue between the younger generation (marked by the digital crisis and capitalism) and the grandparents who lived through fascism, the piece combines elements of rural culture with the advocacy of diversity. The production relies on music and performance to offer a space of dialogue and tenderness in an uncertain social landscape.
Cantando bajo las balas at Teatre Apolo
From 29 September 2026 to 4 October 2026
Teatre Apolo stages Cantando bajo las balas, a play by Antonio Álamo directed by Asier Andueza. Goya Award-winning actress Ane Gabarain stars in this first-person satire centred on General José Millán-Astray, the founder of the Spanish Legion.
Through black comedy and musical numbers, the character looks back over his career, war wounds, and warmongering rhetoric, culminating in the historic showdown of 12 October 1936 in the ceremonial hall of the University of Salamanca opposite its rector, Miguel de Unamuno. The production employs parody to dissect the mechanisms of fanaticism and the mechanics of ideological manipulation.
Carne Quemada at Sala Fènix
From 30 September 2026 to 11 October 2026
Valencian troupe La Màquina presents Carne Quemada at Sala Fènix, running from 30 September 2026 to 11 October 2026. Written and directed by Joaquín Daniel, the production features Aitor Aguirre and Rafa Cruz, who play two men adrift on a vessel in open water.
Through dialogues steeped in black humour, the absurd, and cruelty, the narrative examines how rivalries are forged, the dead weight of dogma, and the fragile nature of identity. The play operates as a parable on power dynamics and belonging, charting how the characters’ initial convictions crumble as reality surfaces.