Comedies on stage: performances in Barcelona and Valencia in the 17th century

Abstract

This article proposes a review of the importance of theatre in Catalan culture in the 17th century. More specifically, we will review the bibliography on the performance spaces and plays performed in the theatres of Barcelona and Valencia, highlighting the dissemination of Lope de Vega’s comedies in these two spaces. We review the impact of the Fénix on the theatres, both in terms of the physical structures of performance and the diffusion of the plays. We review some relevant data about the presence of theatre companies in Valencia and Barcelona, and we try to discern which plays would be performed there, focusing them in the peninsular panorama in order to evaluate the role of these two Catalan-Partilian cities in the world of theatrical performances. Finally, we put forward some hypotheses about the existence of a profane theatre in Catalan and the possible environments and formats for the circulation of the theatre.