Cap Butaca Buida in the Poblenou theatres

On March 21, more than 230 theatres across Catalan-speaking territories will raise the curtain again with the goal of leaving no seat empty. Cap Butaca Buida celebrates its third edition, now established as the Great Theatre Day, an initiative that brings together the sector, institutions, media, and audiences in a day that highlights the cultural and social value of the performing arts.

Here is the programme from theatres in the Poblenou Creative District, which are joining the call to celebrate theatre and achieve maximum attendance:

Teatre Nacional de Catalunya:

• La Reme i jo | 18h – El Born. Museu d’Història de Barcelona

The surrealism of Remedios Varo. As part of the 365 Dones l’any cycle, this piece brings back into focus the figure of significant women who have been overlooked throughout history. It does so through the painter Remedios Varo, known for blending science, mysticism, and imaginary worlds.

There will also be a post-show talk featuring Teresa Grandas and MACBA.

• Giovanni’s Room | 19h – Sala Gran

Identity and social pressure. Eline Arbo (director of Internationaal Theater Amsterdam) adapts the novel by James Baldwin. The play explores themes such as sexuality, internalized homophobia, and social pressure, posing the question: can you feel at home if you are not allowed to be yourself?

Sala Beckett:

• Tendrament | 20h – Sala de baix

Pau and Judit, the performers and playwrights of this story, are tired of repeatedly falling into what is expected of them: a flat, a job, love, a dog, a child. What if they have merely been another piece of furniture serving someone else’s comfortable and productive life? So they decide to listen to their discomfort and choose love, desire, pleasure, and escape from a comfortable home. They will turn the empty stage into their home and the audience into their accomplices and friends.

Cap Butaca Buida advocates for the performing arts as a tool for transformation and solidarity. The initiative aims to repeat—and surpass—record-breaking figures, while also reinforcing an idea that goes beyond numbers: that theatre is an experience that connects territories, generations, and diverse realities under one shared curtain.