Darkness. Lightning and thunder. Screams. With just these ingredients, it begins The big house, the new play written and directed by Sergi Belbel (Terrassa, 1963), which can be seen from January 20 to February 22 at the Teatre Gaudí in Barcelona. The stage, located in the middle of the auditorium, promises an experience for the most daring spectators, who, if they dare to leave the stands and sit in the front row, will have the opportunity to literally enter the mansion where two sisters, played by Anna Carreño and Gemma Deusedas, "switch each other." The actresses will walk past them and behind them—they are in their own home—and shake them with some of the many shudders and howls they unleash during the play, a "disturbing and immersive" experience with which Belbel, author of works such as After the rain (1993), In Tuscany (2007) and Lali Symon (2023), has set itself the challenge of "truly scaring" the audience.

Like a punch with a velvet glove. Like a caress with an iron glove. It's not easy to make people laugh, entertain, and move people when talking about breast cancer. It wasn't easy, but Cristina Clemente manages to achieve the goal with a virtuoso balance between comedy and drama, thanks also to the excellent direction of Sergi Belbel and three actresses in a state of grace.

Sometimes the most sincere friendships are also the most unexpected. Yolanda Fuster, Patrícia Moya, Aïda Cerdanya, Loli Guart, and Íngrid Icra met after suffering from breast cancer. The disease brought them together, but the bond goes much further. "Our conversations don't revolve around cancer. When we see each other, we talk about our children, about life," says Fuster, and Icra adds, "And about sex." They are in their 40s and 50s, and a few months ago, they saw how their experience with the disease was transformed into a play, Women of Radio, written by Cristina Clemente and directed by Sergi Belbel. Clemente –author of productions such as Lapland (2019) and A comprehensive therapy (2022) – infiltrated this collective friendship to build the characters of three women who on stage play Àngels Gonyalons, Sara Espígul and Sara Diego. Women of Radio It premieres at La Villarroel on March 22nd after a successful tour of several theaters across the country. They have already seen it and praised it: "It's a show that touches you deeply, and it made us laugh a lot," emphasizes Icra.