Even if one is not a big reader, on Sant Jordi everyone buys a book. A great celebration of literature that other cultural agents look at with envy, thinking that they would like to find the magic formula that would also make them absolute protagonists for a day. Catalan theaters will rehearse a first simulation this Saturday, with the mission of filling the maximum number of halls with spectators.
The initiative Cap Butaca Buida (No Empty Seat) is born with the will to set a performing arts diada (day) on the calendar, where excuses for staying home are overcome and it becomes socially obligatory to go see a show. "We wanted to celebrate theater with the public," explains Toni Albaladejo, vice-president of the Association of Theater Companies of Catalonia (ADETCA), one of the promoters. He is accompanied by Time Out and the CCMA, with the support of the Generalitat, the Diputació de Barcelona, and the Barcelona City Council.
In addition to being inspired by the pull of Sant Jordi, the initiative finds its origins in the celebration that theaters have been organizing for years for World Theater Day (March 17). A relevant figure from the sector was commissioned to write a manifesto to be later read in different venues, but it ended up becoming very political and "uninspiring," remarks Albaladejo, leaving both professionals and spectators dissatisfied.
For this reason, the aim has been to return to the origins, the shows themselves, and broaden the focus to satisfy the multiple tastes of each attendee, offering morning shows for families, and double sessions in the afternoon and evening. "The whole day will be a party," Albaladejo anticipates. All this, maintaining the dates around World Theater Day, only moving forward one day to take advantage of Saturday, the day with the most activity in all theaters, especially in small cities.
With almost 200 plays on the billboard, the main titles currently being shown in theaters have been included. In Barcelona, one can attend Voltaire/Rousseau by Josep Maria Flotats at the Romea, the funny Esperant Mr. Bojangles at the Poliorama, Entrevistes breus amb dones excepcionals at the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya (TNC), Macbeth and L'imperatiu categòric at the Teatre Lliure, Flairfly at Espai Texas, El Mesías by Händel at the Liceu, La Trena at the Goya, La historia interminable at the Teatre Apolo or the always unbeatable Mago Pop at the Victòria.
In this first edition, a total of 145 venues will participate in the initiative, including public and private theaters, and athenaeums. In Barcelona, all the city's venues, about fifty, will do so. Across Catalonia, more than 60,000 seats have been added, of which about 46,300 tickets have been sold, representing an occupancy of 77%. These figures are well above a conventional Saturday, when about 25,000 seats are sold in the theaters participating in Cap butaca buida, which also tend to be emptier, with an occupancy close to 60%.
Even so, many theaters still need to join, notes Albaladejo. The organizers have set a goal of reaching 100,000 seats next year, with special attention to venues beyond Barcelona. These are the ones that have more budget and calendar difficulties to participate in an initiative like this, for reasons such as only programming one day a month. To ensure they can be included for 2025, they will be informed of the chosen day for this incipient diada with more anticipation than this year.