Interesting facts on Catalan drama
Talking about Catalan theatre means talking, above all, about theatre that is produced in Barcelona, which is one of the two theatrical poles in Spain, along with Madrid. Catalan is currently spoken by about 10 million people, spread between Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, Andorra and other small territories in the south of France and the island of Sicily. Although each of these territories has its own theatres in its respective capital (Valencia, Palma, Perpignan, etc.), Barcelona is undoubtedly the driving force for theatre in the Catalan language.
In Barcelona there are two public theatres (i.e. whose funding depends on public bodies in its entirety): the Teatre Lliure (which in 2026 will celebrate its 50th anniversary) and the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya (inaugurated 30 years ago). Apart from this, there is a powerful private theatrical fabric, the main producer of which is Focus, which in the 2025-2026 season will present over 50 productions at its four theatres.
Barcelona also has several small and medium-format theatres, including the Sala Beckett, which, since it was created in 1989, made a firm commitment to Catalan playwriting and is one of the keys to the boom that homegrown playwriting has experienced since the 80s.
Nowadays, most of the productions that premiere in Barcelona are by Catalan authorship and written in Catalan. However, productions in Spanish have an enormous importance, since they are mostly major musicals imported from Madrid and commercial pieces from companies from the rest of Spain.
The internationalisation of Catalan dramaturgy has been a remarkable phenomenon in recent years. Since playwright Sergi Belbel saw his plays performed around the world in the 1990s, other Catalan playwrights have had their plays regularly premiered in the rest of Spain, throughout Europe, and around South America. Guillem Clua, Lluïsa Cunillé, Jordi Galceran, Josep Maria Miró and Victoria Szpunberg are some of the Catalan playwrights with greater international projection at present.
SOME INTERESTING FACTS AND FIGURES:
- In 2025, the theatres of Barcelona (capital of Catalonia) received a total of 3 million spectators, in what has been the best year in their history.
- The average occupancy stood at 64.21%, while total takings were €98,085,027.21, almost 6% above the previous year.
- The number of spectators watching shows in the Catalan language reached 1,518,636 in 2025, 10% above 2024, while the percentage of attendance at these performances rose from 44.09% to 48.66%.
- At the same time, the number of performances scheduled in Catalan stood at 7,483, up 4.12% on the previous year, representing 56.57% of the total number of performances.
- In 2024, around 225 contemporary works by Catalan authors, originally written in Catalan, premiered in Barcelona, whereas there were about 45 in Spanish.
- As for contemporary works by non-Catalan authors premiered during 2024, 35 were premiered in Catalan, while 74 were premiered in Spanish.
More information on Catala drama you can find in >>this DoSEL inquiry form.<<
Photo credits:Al final, les visions by Llàtzer Garcia. Foto credit: Kiku piñol
Casa Calores by Pere Riera. Foto credit: Kiku Piñol
Tu em vas prometre una història d’amor by Helena Tornero. Foto credit: Kiku Piñol
