Josep Maria Pou leaves the direction of the Romea Theatre

BarcelonaChanges in the leadership of some of the Grup Focus theaters. Josep Maria Pou, until now director of the Teatre Romea, is leaving the position to take on new responsibilities. Pou will be artistic ambassador for Focus. "The group is sending me around the world to do what I like most: enter a theater and discover new shows, new ideas, new creators, new ways of telling stories. I will be a privileged observer and when I find something exciting, fun, and extraordinary, that deserves to be shared, I will do everything possible so that it reaches any of the Focus stages", said Pou during a Focus event with the media.

Pou assumed the direction of the Romea in 2019, after being at the helm of the Teatre Goya (also part of the Grup Focus) since 2008. "Throughout this time I have tried to honor the Teatre Romea in the best way I knew how," stated the actor, who wanted to remember one of the characters that left the biggest mark on him, Hector from The History Boys, the show with which the Goya was reopened. "It left a big mark on me. Doing it, I understood that what is truly important is not holding a position or occupying a place. What is truly important is leaving a part of yourself in those who will come after. The true legacy does not consist of holding onto the keys, but in knowing to whom you hand them over," affirmed Pou before handing over the keys of the Teatre Romea to the one who will take over from him: the director of La Villarroel until now, Tània Brenlle.

"It would never have occurred to me to imagine that today I would be here assuming the direction of this theater. I receive these keys with great responsibility. The Romea is a space with more than 160 years of history, a cultural benchmark for our city. It must continue to be so," highlighted Brenlle. The director explained that she will work so that the theater "continues to be a reference for the spoken word, for performance, for the present, remains rooted in the cultural tradition of our country and open to new trends in European and international dramaturgy. And that it may be a space where the classics become contemporary once again, where the texts of the present can become the repertoire of the future, a meeting point to share the great questions of our time," underlined Brenlle, who has spent 11 seasons at the helm of La Villarroel. It is the first time that the Teatre Romea is directed by a woman.

New management at La Villarroel

The jump to the Romea implies, inevitably, a move in the direction of La Villarroel. Brenlle has handed over the management to Carme Tierz, who until now was responsible for the distribution of Grup Focus shows and artistic director of the RBLS Festival. "I can only show my infinite gratitude. I identify very much with La Villarroel's artistic commitment to theater and contemporary creation, to new voices. Its off-line line gives even more space for a type of theater that is not the usual. These are great successes that I would like to maintain," highlighted the new director. At the Teatre Goya there is no artistic director, the person responsible for programming is Jordi González, while Daniel Anglès remains at the head of the Teatre Condal. The new positions will become effective for the 2027-2028 season.

All these changes are taking place at an important moment for Focus: the season in which it celebrates its 40th anniversary. "We celebrate them by evoking the activity carried out, the successes and the failures, with satisfaction for the good moments, with cold sweats for the situations where we risked our survival. It has been a long journey full of ups and downs", stated the president of the Focus Group, Daniel Martínez, who wanted to highlight that "the main virtue of the journey has been the people who have been the protagonists and who have accompanied us".