No empty armchair: the day that will fill the theaters of the Catalan Countries
Last year the Catalan performing arts celebrated a season that broke all historical records, with more than 3,000,000 spectators and the celebration of the first one Theater Daywhich gathered 55,000 people in the rooms throughout Catalonia under the umbrella of the project No empty armchair. Everything is ready to celebrate this stage festival again that claims the fundamental role of the performing arts and culture in society, and makes it worth the transformative power.
A country project that connects generations
No empty armchair It is a country project promoted by the Association of Theater Companies of Catalonia (ADETCA) and the Catalan Corporation of Audiovisual Media, with the support of the Catalan Institute of Cultural Companies of the Department of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the collaboration of various institutions, theaters, Athenians, producers and affiliated companies.
This 2025 under the slogan “Theater fills you“, And with the evocative image of a armchair created by the illustrator Marc Pallarèson Saturday, March 22, will become a festive and at the same time demanding day that will help to consolidate the theater day. A call open to everyone: both regular, new audiences and culture lovers who want to be part of a unique movement.
“It is a unique opportunity to celebrate the talent of our artists, the good way of doing the performing arts sector and strengthening our collective identity through culture,” says Isabel Vidalthe president of the stage employer ADETCA. He also points out that the plurality of proposals that can be seen throughout the territory is an “invitation to enjoyment, to the reflection, to the dialogue and a meeting between generations”, and emphasizes that “to support the theater is to invest in a space of expression that transforms society and creates an artistic and social legacy that benefits us all”.
For the theatrical producer and Vice President of Adetca, Toni Albaladejothis day invites to “live the magic of live show” and do it gathering friends and family “because the theater is a fundamental pillar of our community”. He also defends it JOFRE BLESAcoordinator of the project, who invites the public to “demonstrate together that the theater is alive and necessary” with a festive and popular day that has become a “applause to culture, a support for theaters and artists and a momentum so that the theater continues to excite us”.
In the first edition, No empty armchair In one Saturday he gathered 55,583 spectators who filled the platees of the 145 stage spaces that were joined, between public, private and Athenian theaters from all over Catalonia, and exceeded 92% of average occupancy. This figure was an absolute record of employment in Catalonia. The event also begins at the celebrations of World Theater Week, which revolve around World Child and Youth Theater Day (March 20), World Puppet Day (March 21) and World Theater Day (March 27).
200 spaces that cross borders
A giant inflatable armchair has toured several cities such as Tarragona, Salt, Figueres, Lleida or Igualada to amplify the message of a day that will add the 200 Catalan stage spaces that have joined the initiative and, for the first time, also includes facilities beyond our borders, with rooms in the Balearic Islands, Northern Catalonia, the Valencian Community and the Alghero. These new territories enrich the initiative thanks to the collaboration of the Auditorium of Manacor, the Cultural Center of Pesillà de la Ribera, the Talia Theater of Valencia and the Cívic Teatre Gaví Ballero de l’Alguer.
The project will continue to allocate a percentage of its collection to a solidarity entity. If by 2024 it was Clowns without bordersthe organization led by the clown Tortell Poltrona, this year the choice has been Pallapupas. The veteran NGO, composed of professional actors and actresses, works in the therapeutic uses of humor in hospital centers. The organization has its own artistic method and serves patients of all ages. With more than 20 years of experience, Pallapupas works day by day to give rise to humor and laughter during the process of illness and thus be able to transform hospitals into kinder spaces and full of life.
The theater sector is organized to grow
No empty armchair is also part of the first Plan to promote theateran initiative of the Department of Culture that aims to promote the growth of Catalan performing arts. In coordination with all professional associations representing theaters, producers, companies, interpreters and professionals in the management or street arts, or institutions such as the Institut Ramon Llull or the National Council of Culture and the Arts, this strategic plan will deploy 23 measures to support creation and production; improve the dissemination and generation of audiences; promote contracting; ensure training and training; Encourage the collection of data and knowledge, and other variables of environmental sustainability and accessibility.
For more information about the theaters and shows attached, you can visit the official page www.capbutacabuida.cat.
