The Grec Festival will open with a family show

BarcelonaLeticia Martín's first Grec Festival will feature 90 shows spread across 42 venues in Barcelona. contemporary art through the visions of artists. I want to use art as an element that helps us strengthen our relationships and our society," says the director. "The first task we asked Leticia was to fuse the festival with the city of Barcelona." Collboni, at the presentation of the program.

The festival, with a public contribution of 3.6 million euros, will open on June 26 at the Teatre Grec with The Little Circus by Marie and Yoann Bourgeois, a show for ages 8 and up that reflects on the seasons of life through visual, sound, and movement landscapes. "We chose this show with the aim of reaching as many people as possible. It marks the beginning of an edition based on networking," says Martín. The production will premiere in Barcelona and then travel to France.

International artists

Grec 2025 will maintain its ties with leading international creators who have previously attended the festival. The South African William Kentridge will reinterpret the myth of Faust with Faustus in Africa and the Brazilian Carolina Bianchi will carry the second part of the trilogy Chain Force on sexual violence. The Belgian Milo Rau will revisit the myth of Medea with a real criminal case, the British Declan Donnellan joins forces with the National Classical Theatre Company to recover The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Greek Christos Papadopoulos will premiere My fierce ignorant step. The Portuguese Tiago Rodrigues –director of the Avignon Festival– will also be at the Grec with Hecube not Hecube, a new version of the myth of Hecuba.

Also passing through Grec will be the Moroccan-Belgian Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, who in Ihsane uses dance to talk about today's problems and fears. German Max Richter will be at the Teatre Grec for the first time with his electronic music The Blue Notebooks and In the LandscapeMexican Alberto Cortés will return to the festival with Illiterate and the Italian Alessandro Sciarroni will present One. A song and Save the last dance for me. In parallel, the Grec will welcome artists who have not yet stepped foot there before, such as the Belgian choreographer Lisaboa Houbrechts, a disciple of Jan Lawers, who presents her view on Mother Courage by Bertolt Brecht. Also making their Grec debuts are the Albanian Mario Banushi, the Norwegian Eline Arbo (who has The hours in large format at the TNC) and Dominican Republic choreographer Ligia Lewis.

Local talent

As usual, many of the city's theaters will be filled with offerings from the Grec Festival. Giant by Roald Dahl, while Sergi Pompermayer will present the second part ofAmerica, titled Grand Canyon, in La Villarroel, which will also host a reading of Love letters with Carme Elias, Ramon Madaula and Sílvia Munt. At the Goya, Emma Riberola will premiere Carnations with Oriol Folch as stage director and Rakel Camacho will direct the adaptation of the novel The back room.

The Sixto Paz company will adapt the popular novel Who killed my father?, by Édouard Louis, and Oriol Broggi will direct The storm at the Library. At the Teatre Lliure, the Señor Serrano Group will premiere its new creation, History of love, a play about how the search for love shapes our history and identity. The Antic Teatre will host "the scene that overflows with punk power," according to the director, with pieces by Kika Superputa, Victoria Aimé, Luqui Lagomarsino, and Guillem Jiménez y Los Torreznos.

Unique performances

Leticia Martín follows the lead of the former director of the Grec, Francesc Casadesús, in taking the festival to unusual or unexpected places. Interference 02, conceived by Marc Salicrú, an urban concert and at the same time an artistic action with dozens of participants that will take place at the Arc de Triomf.

Among the most unique proposals in the program are the artistic intervention by Llorenç Barber in the Rubió and Lluch Gardens, which will become an expanded acoustic experience, and the musical action by Núria Andorrà at the Fundació Miró. In the Botanical Garden, Carlos Cuevas will return with reading of Henry David Thoreau's monologue and the CCCB will host the projects of two leading companies: Asteroid by Marco de Agostin and Manual for living beings from LaMula (the creators of Thauma). The festival will also occupy La Virreina with a performance by Roger Bernat and the Centro de las Artes Libres with another by Irene Vicente Sala.

Musical performances, with a tribute to Pau Riba

Following the opening show, the Teatre Grec will host three concerts. Clara Peya will close the tour of Corset, her album about identity, gender and freedom, with a performance featuring dancers, heart and special collaborations. Folklore I and II with a concert in collaboration with the visual artists Desilence, and Rozalén will make her debut at the festival with the live performance ofThe hug, which will feature all the songs performed in sign language.

The Teatre Grec will also host a tribute concert to Pau Riba, entitled Pau Riba. Diopter - 55, which will feature a dozen artists from all generations. IndiGest, the company led by Jordi Oriol, will review the history of musicals and democracy with a performance created especially for the occasion and entitled The Night of the Alto Musician. In the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Carmen, in collaboration with the Palau de la Música, you will see The Veil of the Temple by John Tavener performed by the choirs of the Orfeó Català. And the Liceu will repeat the choral project of newly created micro-operas with names such as Carlota Gurt, Clàudia Cedó and Oriol Pla. At the Condal, Arnau Tordera will conduct Sardana Superstar and Andreu Gallén will premiere a new musical, titled All children grow up.