Áfora is the Focus agora, a hub of thought, an area of reflection and activities that, based on the scenic experience, has the aim of influencing artistic, cultural and social life, in the territory of our influence.

We have 5 areas of action: The Romea Foundation, Àfora Edicions, La 5a Paret, Platea 618 and Espectadores

Agenda

  • TERESA CUNILLÉ PRIZE AWARDED 2023 (III EDITION)

    Fundació Romea - 20 November at 19:00

    The Property of the Teatro Romea, with the collaboration of the Institut del Teatre, announces the 3rd edition of the Teresa Cunillé Prize for the best works on the history of Catalan theater. The call is biennial.

    In this third call, the award expands its scope and, in addition to the research modality for the best research work on the history of theater in Catalan, it offers for the first time the dramaturgy modality for the best adaptation project of an existing text or creation of an original unpublished text linked to the rescue of the historical heritage of Catalan theater.

    The jury will be made up of the following people:
    As president, Laura Cendrós, representing the Property of the Romea Theater.
    As members, Mercè Amat, translator and interpreter; Enric Ciurans, professor and director of the Department of Art History at the University of Barcelona; Narciso Comadira, writer and translator; Susana Egea, Research Director of the Theater Institute; Francesc Foguet, professor of Theater Studies at the Autonomous University of Barcelona; Enric Gallén, theater historian and critic; César Martínez, General Director of Art and Content of Grupo Foco; Pere Riera, professor of dramaturgy and staging at the Theater Institute, and Marta Turu, spectator.
    And as secretary, Araceli Vilarrasa, representing the Vilarrasa-Cunillé family.
    The Jury has the power to interpret the bases, to resolve any incident and also reserves the right not to award the prize. Your decision will be final.

    Barcelona
    Teatre Romea
    16 October 2023
    Tickets

  • THE SIEGE OF LENINGRAD

    Fundació Romea - 27 November at 19:00

    One of the author’s most performed works. In it, two women live together in an old abandoned theater, threatened by real estate speculation, and they strive to find an explanation for the mysterious death, twenty-three years ago, of her lover and husband, and director of the company. that were part.
    This reading is part of the Sanchis Autumn. An autumn of shows, readings and activities about the figure of José Sanchis Sinisterra and his influence on contemporary Catalan and Spanish theater.

    Author: José Sanchis Sinisterra
    Director: Ramon Simó

    Cast: Mercè Arànega and Vicky Peña

    A Beckett Hall production

    Barcelona
    Teatre Romea
    27 november
    Tickets

  • A CHRISTMAS CONCERT WITH NATURAL INTELLIGENCE

    Fundació Romea - 16 December at 19:00

    This concert act will present the Nuzic system and application as a tool to stimulate the game of musical creativity through numerical structures.

    The aim of this tool is to broaden the possibilities of musical composition through numbers and improve artistic intuition. Thus developing an art based on the interaction of natural human intelligence with a special technology tool. We believe that technology alone cannot replace creativity and that there can be no evidence of life without human experience to create beauty.

    Barcelona
    Teatre Romea
    16 December 2023
    Tickets

  • THINK WITH YOUR HANDS. ACT I: SUTURE

    Fundació Romea - 16 January at 19:00

    «I am Gema Galdón and through my hands, with needle, thread, scissors, various materials, hollow air and light, I create pieces that my mind recreates in the most unexpected moment; lying face down on the table waiting for the chiropractor, in a museum, in front of a pile of red apples at the market or simply staring lazily at the ceiling. Shapes come to me and suddenly there is one that catches me like a riddle, which I need to develop to its end.

    Barcelona
    Teatre Romea
    16 January
    Tickets

  • THINK WITH YOUR HANDS. ACT II: FROM WOOD TO SOUND

    Fundació Romea - 16 February at 19:00

    In general, when we say the word “technology” we think of mobile phones and the like. We forget that transforming the trunk of a tree into a violin is also technology – ancient, no doubt, but no less technology for that reason. David Bagué carefully observed the blacksmiths or cabinetmakers of the Gracia neighborhood who, for their part, had carefully observed the work of the great masters of modernism; and these that of their parents… And thus we would arrive at the Gothic, or the Romanesque, or at the same iron point of the sagetes of the laietans. This chain of transmission is very fragile and is about to break, but it still exists and should be preserved and admired.

    Barcelona
    Teatre Romea
    16 February
    Tickets

  • THINK WITH YOUR HANDS. ACT III: ATELIER MERAVELLES

    Fundació Romea - 11 March at 19:00

    When I thought about men, I created an intensity of temps, and I placed my focus on the essence of the person.

    The Atelier Maravillas transports its entire Dressing Laboratory, and makes it go up on stage, to recreate its daily life, where for nineteen years, it teaches how to express oneself and construct one’s own clothing.

    We will see live how the story of each person transmutes until it becomes a suit. We will experience, from within this workshop, the entire clothing manufacturing process (design, pattern, construction) of suits that show the identity of each of the participants, authentic portraits of their soul.

    Life is a great, genuine and unrepeatable work of art. What clothing will you wear?

    Barcelona
    Teatrer Romea
    11 March
    Tickets

Romea Foundation

A dialogue between contemporary art and the performing arts.

The Romea Foundation investigates artistic forms to activate terms such as fervor, passion, the sublime, beauty or inspiration that paradoxically cause discomfort. A discomfort that manifests itself when we show ourselves sensitive to the world and reveal our vulnerability. It could be said that our effort seeks to summon ghosts, as Joan Fontcuberta did with the artist Margarida Xirgu, or Eduard Márquez when he tried, in a certain way, to overcome his ghosts to advance his literary work.

Romea Foundation website

Recent events

The 5th Wall

The intersection wall between the theater and the street, between the stage and society.

In the theater world, the virtual wall that separates the stage from the spectators is known as the fourth wall, and for a long time the actor-spectator interaction has been called “breaking the fourth wall”.

La 5a Paret is a meeting point that will allow us to capture concepts that emerged from the stage and take them to the field of philosophy, to analyze them from different angles and formats.

Recent events

Àfora Editions

In editorial format to channel reflection needs.

An editorial stamp to protect Áfora’s will to permanence its activity, and the conceptual and aesthetic relevance of selected texts and creators.

ÀforaEdicions was born with the publication of three editorial initiatives:

Pre-Occupaciones, under the title “ParaísosPerdidos”, dedicated to identifying our sensitive part in collaboration with different authors such as Emma Riverola, Fernando Prats, Pep Duran, Helena Tornero, Anna Malagrida, Andrés Lima, Arash Arjomandi , Eloi Fernández Porta, Enrique Ruíz Domènec, Sofia Rincón and Pablo Auladell.

Fer Mutis (Mutandis). 35 verbal foci in the performing arts of Màrius Serra. A commission to the writer and journalist Màrius Serra on theatrical slang and aphorisms, which will gloss over theatrical concepts and expressions beyond their etymology, searching for hidden curiosities and origins.

And the adaptation of the theatrical text “Paradizo Perdido” by Helena Tornero, based on the epic poem by John Milton and illustrated by the artist Paula Bonet.

Recent events

PLATEA 618

Aerial view of Gran Via shopping area in Madrid, Spain.

A connection between professionals from the theater sector in Barcelona and Madrid.

618 are the kilometers that exist between Barcelona and Madrid, the two theatrical centers of the State. We want to take advantage of this ascendancy to favor a close relationship between professionals from both cities, creating a permanent circuit and personal relationship channels, which allow increasing synergies aimed at increasing co-participation and creative and artistic exchange.

PLATEA 618 will feature meetings between artists and creators, and between managers and producers, to discuss atavistic concerns and new challenges.

Recent events

Spectators

INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF THEATER SPECTATORS

Biennial in nature, the International Congress of Theater Spectators is not just another congress about audiences.

It is the only international meeting of, by and for theater spectators. The public is art and part.

It is a unique opportunity to learn first-hand about the needs, concerns, and beliefs of performing arts spectators. The Congress aims to call on spectators to regain their role in the value chain of the performing arts and rethink their future role.

In the 1st edition, held in October 2022 at the Romea Theater in Barcelona, we have more than 650 registered, more than 50 invited international spectators, from 25 countries and 5 continents.

We are already preparing the organization of the 2nd edition, which will take place from November 18 to 20, 2024

Website of the International Congress of Theater Spectators

GRANS TEATRERUS

Social project of the Grup Focus that aims to contribute to combating involuntary loneliness among the elderly and promote active aging through theater and culture.

We want to recover as spectators our “Grans Teatrerus” who, for various reasons, have ceased to be theater audiences, through intergenerational links with young, with whom to share their passion and knowledge for the performing arts.

During the 2023-24 season, a pilot test will be developed with residents of the Raval neighborhood in Barcelona, linked to the Teatre Romea and the Theatre Goya.

More info

PUBLIC ADVICE

We have launched Public Advice, made up of active spectators who will participate in the day-to-day life of our theaters, wanting to contribute ideas, visions and opinions, as ambassadors and collaborate in the dynamics of the performing spaces.

It is the transfer to our theaters of the main objective of the Congress of Spectators: giving a voice to the public and getting to know their desires closely.

The 2023-24 season has started its activity:

Contact

ÁFORA

afora@grupfocus.cat

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