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.

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.