La Veronal with Mercè Rodoreda and 'The Crown of Thorns' with Àngels Gonyalons: the new season of the TNC

BarcelonaHe good moment for Catalan theatre This is also reflected in the season that the National Theatre of Catalonia (TNC) is about to close. While we await the final figures, this year the public theatre has achieved 87% occupancy (of which 25% is audiences under 35 years old) and 134,000 spectators. 2,000 more than the previous season"We are fighting to have one of the best theaters in Europe. The numbers are in our favor," said TNC director Carme Portaceli on Tuesday, taking the opportunity to recall some of the season's successes, such as The spider, by Jordi Prat i Coll, and The third escape, by Victoria Szpunberg.

The TNC's 2025-2026 season is dedicated to women. "It's a topic that raises a lot of controversy and a lot of violence. But in 2023, 85,000 women were murdered on the planet. If they were soccer players, it would be a global crisis," says Portaceli. The TNC director explained that this does not imply "a greater presence of female directors and authors" in the programming, but rather that the new shows "will talk about women" to "create a narrative, take ownership of the story, and explain our vision of the world."

Great adaptations

The TNC will open the season with a look at one of the most prestigious Catalan companies, La Veronal, about one of the most important writers in our country, Mercè Rodoreda. The group, led by Marcos Morau, will present their version of Death and Spring and will then take it to the Sala Gran. Xavier Albertí will conduct The crown of thorns by Josep Maria de Sagarra with a cast led by Àngels Gonyalons. The show, in verse, brings to the stage issues such as violence against women, fatherhood, and the possibility of redemption with a story that takes place in 1793, the same time France beheaded Marie Antoinette.

The artistic director of the KVS Theatre in Brussels, Michael De Cock—one of Carme Portaceli's allies in Europe, with whom she co-directed Mrs. Dalloway (2019) and Bovary (2023)–, will be present next season in two roles. The TNC director will premiere a text by the Belgian, Mary Magdalene, starring Ariadna Gil and aiming to vindicate her figure. "The protagonist is a professor who has to give a lecture on Mary Magdalene. She wants to go to the north of Catalonia and meets a taxi driver named Jesus. And I can't say any more," the director notes. Portaceli and De Cock will also premiere an opera by Bovary with a Belgian and French cast, born after the theatrical version of Flaubert's work.

Among the theatrical classics, two proposals stand out. Maria Rodríguez is at the helm of The wolf queen, a show based on Shakespeare's Margaret of Anjou in The War of the Roses directed by Pau Carrió. Carlota Subirós will also adapt the myths of Oedipus and Antigone with performers such as Kathy Sey, Vicenta Ndongo, and Oriol Genís on stage. Another of the course's projects is the adaptation ofThe firmament, by British director Lucy Kirkwood, directed by Gara Roda and with fourteen actors in the Sala Petita, including Sílvia Abril and Paula Malia. And Judith Pujol adapts texts by María Velasco about the escape to Leak inventory, which will be headed by Laia Marull.

Catalan authorship

Catalan drama will be present at the TNC with pieces such as Fog, a text by Lluïsa Cunillé on the failure of Europe, which Lurdes Barba will bring to the Sala Petita. The daughter of the air and Manel Dueso prepares Jambo Bwana, a show about a group of friends on Christmas Eve, starring Montse Germán and Àurea Márquez. "An event will happen that changes their vision of what it means to have fun," Portaceli reveals.

The "gestational experiences" will have their own show co-written by Ariana Ruglio, Alba Florejachs, Nídia Tusal and Lara Díez Quintanilla and titled HeartbeatsVero Cendoya will present A brilliant imperfection (or death of a pianist) with a company made up of neurodivergent performers. The final show of the season will be Born free, of the company specializing in documentary and social theater The Conquest of the South Pole, which aims to be a stage production focused on the education and training of new citizens.

International tours

As usual, the TNC will host shows throughout the year that are successful on the European scene. The Frenchman Christophe Rauck will lead Dissection of a snowdrift, which presents a world in which, in the exercise of power, being a woman is a crime. Absalom, Absalom!, directed by Séverine Chavrier. It is the story of a family tragedy torn apart by the Civil War.

Norwegian Eline Arbo, who will debut at the Grec Festival with The hours, will return to the TNC with Giovanni's room by James Baldwin. The text portrays the protagonist's internalized homophobia and the polarization of art. Ours From Madrid-based Lucía Carballal, the story of a Sephardic family grieving. "It's an extraordinary work about rituals and a family riddled with disagreements, yet united," says Portaceli.

Dance Performances

The National Theatre's program also includes three great names in dance: Peeping Tom, Lali Ayguadé, and Sol Picó. The former—creators of hypnotic shows such as the diptych The lost room and The missing door– will premiere Chronicles, about five figures trapped in a temporal labyrinth.

Lali Ayguadé, one of the most important Catalan choreographers on the international scene, will lead Unstable, a piece about identity imposed by social canons. highly renowned Sol Picó prepares The Lamb and her army, a piece about a woman facing a great final battle that will be seen in the Sala Gran.

Family proposals

Family audiences will also find their offerings at the TNC. The "eia" Circus Company reflects on physical and mental transformation with The wooden stone, a show for all ages "and especially for those over 70." Chip Chap adapts Be a turtle by Agustín Sánchez Aguilar in a puppet show in Catalan for children over four years old. "They explore the speed of the current moment and the importance of a contemplative life, to defend the idea that the pace of a turtle is better," Portaceli emphasizes.

For children over six years old, the company La Banda and Mercè Vila Godoy have prepared Hello, rage!, on how to approach this emotion without suffering. And teenagers will have two suggestions aimed at them: Tarsivos by Lara Díez Quintanilla is a montage about how to talk about youth suicide, while The rattle Project Ingenuity will recover the figure of Catalina Muñoz, who was executed in 1936 and buried with her son's rattle in a mass grave.