Although it has been fifteen years since Alexandre Ballester passed away, he will always be present in the memory of those of us who enjoyed his talent, grace, and insight. That the Teatre Principal Palma decides to make him accessible to all those who did not have our good fortune is, without a doubt, not only a success but also a well-deserved tribute. The production, on the other hand, is a top-tier one, with a grandiose set design, with the drawback of mobility so it can go to other stages on the island, and a stellar cast, led by Miquel Àngel Torrens, along with Luca Bonadei, Mariona Hauf, Sofía Muñiz, Maria Rosselló Josep Orfila, and Patxi Arostegui. The play, Un baül groc per a Nofre Taylor, which Joan Lluís Bozzo once put on the Catalan alternative stages, a little before the creation of Dagoll Dagom, had been left at the bottom of the trunk of forgotten plays. Marga López has been in charge of this rescue, of this hyperrealistic portrait of the human condition, because that is what Ballester's play is, and nothing else. All the traits of the rich and powerful have not changed a bit, because they were already like that since time immemorial. This would be a careful, but simple, reading, because the subjects of the emperors/businessmen also play the same role as always, that of submission. Even more so, we could give all and each of the characters who appear the first and last names of someone known, so well-known that perhaps they are our own. Ballester's brush never left any corner unpainted.

While the Teatre i l’Auditori of Manacor face an important change of era with the change of manager, after almost 40 years with Tomeu Amengual at the helm, the Teatre Principal of Inca consolidates an audience that, since its inauguration in 2021, has not stopped growing. If the 2022-2023 season closed with 28,000 attendees, the 2024-2025 season ended with more than 34,000. Many of them, moreover, from Inca. “More and more people from Inca are coming to the theater, trusting the proposals we offer, but since the audience from the rest of the island is also growing, the percentages mean that the increase in local audience, which was one of the main objectives to achieve, is blurred”, explains Miquel Àngel Raió, director of the center since September 2022. “Of course, we would like to achieve a model like Manacor’s, with more than 50% local audience, but now we are operating with different percentages. We have 30% of people from Inca and 70% of people from the rest of Mallorca”, he specifies.

Even today, the festival that remembers Alexandre Ballester in sa Pobla, of which the sixth edition has just taken place, is called Albopàs, the name of the town backwards: a term he coined, as a kind of magical recreaction of sa Pobla, and a country where he set many of his works. We remember this stage creator precisely when the Principal Theatre of Palma is about to premiere a new version of Un baül groc per a Nofre Taylor, one of his most outstanding works.

The Minorcan actress Laura Pons has been awarded the ATAPIB 2025 prize for best female performer for her role in the play Laura, at the twentieth edition of the awards gala of the Association of Public Theatres and Auditoriums of the Balearic Islands (ATAPIB), which was held at the Teatre Principal in Inca.

Taking the classics and from here telling what you want to tell has been the plot gimmick with which Miquel Mas Fiol has put together this 'Millennial' Condition Trilogy. The author and director has not held back. The first victim was Voltaire; the second, Goethe, and the third, Victor Hugo. Candide or Optimism, The Sorrowsof Young Werther and this last one, Les Misérables, have been the MacGuffin for the author to launch his discourse, based on having a good time without leaving a single head on anyone's shoulders. Not a single cane standing, without exceptions. The first, his own, from before the show began, with two of the protagonists launching invectives against the author. From abuser to exploiter... while people entered the venue. This is his license, the safe-conduct that allows him to beat mercilessly, right and left, outside red lines.

That the plenary sessions of the Manacor City Council are something else is a fact demonstrable with the videos that the council itself uploads each month to its Youtube channel. It is clear that like any good ‘show’, the plenary session has politically boring and administrative procedural moments; but it has others, especially when it comes to the turn of requests and questions, where the emotion skyrockets (and often goes crazy).

The summer festival La Lluna en Vers returns in 2026 to Mallorca with a program of 14 nights of open-air culture spread across different points of the island and an image marked by the eclipse of August 12, which this year inspires the visual and symbolic narrative of the project.

It was formerly called the House of Comedies, and the current building was constructed in the 19th century. But Palma's Principal Theatre stands on the same site where performances were already taking place in the 17th century. For 359 years, comedies have been staged in the same location, next to the former stream that gives its name to the street where it is located. As we approach World Theatre Day, as we do every March 27th, we explore the history of this stage.

Return to the Gran Teatre del Liceu Manon Lescaut, by Puccini, and it does so with a truly unbeatable headliner: the splendid Asmik Grigorian, whose production is directed by Àlex Ollé and conducted from the pit by Josep Pons. This is the second musical version of Antoine François Prévost's novel, which was originally titled The story of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut, The maestro from Lucca achieved his first major public success. A success that the Ricordi management, apart from his boss and the boss, weren't entirely convinced about, since it was the same story that Jules Massenet had staged ten years earlier with considerable acclaim. Although there are still those who say that Manon There's only one, and they're not referring to the one we're discussing; undoubtedly, this one has already earned its place among those that haven't been left out of the major circuits. Manon The Grigorian chant is an added value, both in terms of the dramatic aspect, which is essential in this case, and the vocal aspect, with an excellent, flawless performance.

We could give many examples that confirm the truth of the title, but just the last three operas I've seen these past few days immediately dispel any doubt. First was the Gotterdämerung Wagner's opera, where it becomes clear that the tragic and central protagonist is Brünhilde. And she is none other than Senta, who heads the cast of The Flying Dutchmanwhich we were able to enjoy at the Principal Theatre of Ciudad. To round off the week, at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the one who carries the banner is the one who gives the work its title, The Mona Lisa. A composition, the only known one by Amilcare Ponchielli, yet still an indisputable masterpiece that requires six top-level voices to reach its full potential, as was the case in the production between the Liceu and the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, with stage direction by Romain Gilbert. Based on a drama by Victor Hugo, Angelo, tyrant of Padoue, to which Arrigo Boito, author of the librettos for Verdi's last and among his most highly regarded operas, under the pseudonym Tobia Gorrio, moved to Venice. An aspect that Gilbert has configured with complete and absolute fidelity, adding a few touches of the conmedia dell'arte, with the inclusion of Harlequin, Pantalone and Columbine, in addition to some narrative liberties, such as, among others, the final appearance of The Blind Woman, by Violeta Urmana, who still retains many of her qualities and, above all, the skill to accurately depict the essential characteristics of the character.

Twenty-eight editions have taken place in the bars of various Ciutat establishments, which over the years have become theatrical havens, where every Thursday they fill up to enjoy these wonderful little stories with a beer in hand and a tapa in mouth. The theme for this year's event offers plenty of material: tourism, which none of the authors have glorified or even hinted at. On the other hand, recommending one performance over another is more difficult than ever.

Animula, vagula, blandula/ Hospes comesque corporeal/ Quae nunc abibis in loca/ Pallid, rigid, nudula, Neco, ut solas, dabis yocos… Thus begins the funeral poem written by the Emperor Hadrian, which inspired Marguerite Yourcenar for her Memoirs, as a hypothetical farewell letter he writes to his young successor, Marc Aureli. A piece that was, at the time, essential and delightful reading. Years later, none other than Maurizio Scaparro brought them to the stage in an adaptation by Jean Launay, starring Giorgio Albertazzi, which we saw at Madrid's Teatro Albéniz. The director himself revived it in Spanish, starring José Sancho, with whom he toured much of the Iberian Peninsula.

Tenant It is the latest theatrical farce of the caloric Julia Truyol. She always chooses well, from the company with which she has become a canonical benchmark to others. Her standards are very high, and on this occasion, once again, she has surpassed them with that natural interpretive skill that is her trademark. However, Tenant It's a challenge with a few added twists and turns, requiring many elements surrounding the story for the project to succeed. First, a good script, starting from a very common situation: a tenant evicting a female tenant due to the excesses, to put it mildly, in which we live and which we've even become accustomed to, shrugging our shoulders and thinking, "What can you do?" Putting this everyday circumstance on stage risks turning it into a piece of everyday life. That's not the case here. Furthermore, a monologue needs plenty of incentives to keep the audience engaged, forcing the protagonist to perform a series of somersaults that can only be overcome with a wide range of registers at a pace that, if not frenetic, is certainly high-energy, constantly shifting her tone, going from despair to resignation, reflecting the protagonist's temperament.

Teatre del Mar has presented its 2026 winter season with a program that consolidates its unique cultural model, based on the combination of contemporary creation, social theater, education, and artistic residencies. The program champions the stage as a space for critical thinking, community cohesion, and artistic risk-taking, with a focus rooted in the local area and open to social transformation. The season will open on January 17th with a concert that sets the tone for the cycle: Jazz Flamenco, featuring Toni Cuenca and Benji Habichuela. These two artists, whose careers have been linked to figures such as Paco de Lucía, María del Mar Bonet, and Buika, will present a performance that fuses jazz and flamenco through improvisation, singing, and dance, in a dialogue between musical universes that symbolizes the spirit of encounter and creative freedom that the theater aims to foster. The winter performance program combines major works and contemporary creation with productions of strong social content. Leading companies and artists such as Producciones de Hierro, La Impaciencia, Colectivo NINS, La Fornal de Espectáculos, Teatro Nu, Om Imprebís, and Toni Albà will participate. Titles such as Cyrano, Plum, Z/B (Zweig & Bernanos), Where do we come from? and 50 years of Memocracy, Among others, they create a diverse program that engages with the present through the stage.

If I had to choose just one play, I'm sure it would be Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand's play, which I'm almost certain is the one I've seen adapted the most times in my life. Seeing it advertised at the Teatro Principal in Ciudad, with Salvador Oliva's adaptation by the company La Impaciencia—founded by Rodo Gener, Salvador Oliva, and Xavi Núñez, and directed by Luis Venegas—evokes at least two opposing feelings. On the one hand, the enjoyment of being able to see and hear the words, adventures, and misadventures of someone whom it's impossible not to admire, envy, and never even come close to. On the other, I confess, the doubt of how far this daring group can go with only three actors and four wooden boxes as scenery in just an hour and a half of performance.

The Teatro Principal in Palma has closed the first part of the 2025-2026 season with a 7.1% increase in audience numbers compared to the same period last year. Between September and December, the cultural venue recorded a total of 22,473 spectators, compared to 20,976 in 2024. According to the Consell de Mallorca, this increase was boosted by several weekends with high occupancy rates, with performances selling out. This is the case of Cyrano, from Impatience, and GiantStarring Josep Maria Pou, these two productions have significantly contributed to the increased attendance.

The Sant Joan City Council and the Diocese of Mallorca have reached a historic agreement: the purchase by the municipal administration of the former cinema and theater in the Catholic Center building, popularly known as 'Es Centro'. The space has been disused and closed since a fire destroyed it in 1978. The deal comes after several attempts in recent years by municipal governments to acquire the building or, at the very least, secure its temporary transfer. None of the negotiations were successful. The Mayor of Sant Joan, Richard Thompson, has confirmed to All Plans The negotiations and contacts initiated at the end of 2023 have come to fruition: "The Diocese has already authorized the sale after the current parish priest of San Juan, Father Francesc Xavier Riutort, submitted a request." The preliminary agreement is for approximately €390,000 for the purchase of the 618 square meters occupied by what was the theater in the Es Centro building. In fact, the bar is open, and on the first floor there is an area used as a rectory and a space for other activities. There is also another area used by both the City Council and the bar itself as a storage area. All these spaces will remain the property of the Diocese.

Again, The elisir He again gave the impression that he preaches the jocoso Doctor Dulcamara, sung for this occasion by the great Ambrogio Maestri, is a role he has performed so many times throughout his career that it has become a paradigmatic canon. And regardless of his voice's decline, he is still the smooth-talking purveyor of the cure-all potion. Meanwhile, Javier Camarena/Nemorino, who debuted at the Liceu thirteen seasons ago in this role, was still unwell, and Michael Spyres took over, who, it should be remembered, had sung it the day before. There was little applause at the end of almost any of the most famous and acclaimed arias, until he sang the renowned... A furtive tearWith that, he woke the audience up as if someone had stepped on a lightbulb. A little unfair, they made up for it later, and the party ended as always, with the audience in a frenzy, accompanying Dulcamara when she did the obligatory encore, the usual one. Udite, Udite Oh! Rusticio.

They are two of the most important figures for understanding the current character of Palma, and they have much in common: significant education, time spent abroad, and a broad understanding of the context that surrounded them when, in the mid-20th century, they laid the foundations of this city as we know it today. However, there were also notable differences between the architect Josep Ferragut and the urban planner Gabriel Alomar. It is precisely these opposing viewpoints, despite their friendship, that have prompted the playwright Josep Ramon Cerdà to give voice to an unlikely encounter between the two on the night before Ferragut's death. This imagined dialogue is the twin of the play. The architect, which premieres on November 7th at the Teatre del Mar under the Produccions de Ferro label and starring Xisco Segura and Miquel Àngel Torrens.

It was the first half of the eighties. They were young, very young, and everything seemed possible. Well, everything... except making a living in Mallorca by doing theater. But they achieved that too. Iguana Teatre, a group that has been key to the Mallorcan scene, made its debut in November 1985, with a party at the Palma workshop of the painter Horacio Sapere. Forty years have now passed since then. To celebrate, this Saturday they are presenting a book and a documentary about their history.