XXIV Clásicos en Alcalá
The 24th edition of Clásicos en Alcalá, organized by the Community of Madrid and the Alcalá de Henares City Council, will be held from June 13 to July 6 and will include more than 20 premieres in its program.
The festival will feature a total of 86 performances, more than 90 activities, and more than 20 premieres by 62 companies such as Ron Lalá, Nao d’Amores, Fundación Teatro de La Abadía, Teatro Yeses, Angulo el Malo from Argentina, Teatro Círculo from New York, and Luna de Plata from Mexico.
Dance, text theater, poetry, folklore, and concerts will be some of the formats featuring artists from Colombia, Uruguay, Mexico, Bolivia, Argentina, Venezuela, the United States, Canada, and Spain.
Under the motto “Dream the Classics,” the 24th edition of the Hispano-American Festival of the Golden Age of the Community of Madrid was launched today. Classics in Alcalá, which will be held from June 13 to July 6 in Alcalá de Henares.
Under the slogan “Dream the Classics,” the 24th edition of the Community of Madrid’s Hispano-American Golden Age Festival was presented today. Classics in Alcalá, which will be held from June 13 to July 6 in Alcalá de Henares.
Classics in Alcalá, organized by the Alcalá de Henares City Council and the Community of Madrid, will be held in more than fifteen performing arts and monumental venues, increasing the presence of children’s and youth programming, as well as stage theater offerings, in this edition. More than 90 activities and nearly 1,000 professionals—artists, technicians, and support staff—will bring this new edition to life.
Thus, the city of Complutense will once again become the best stage for the great classics of the Spanish Golden Age in different formats such as theater, dance, poetry, circus, folklore, exhibitions, book presentations, puppetry, concerts, talks, and academic conferences, among others.
The program for the 24th edition of the festival will feature 86 performances by 62 companies with artists from countries such as Colombia, Uruguay, Mexico, Bolivia, Argentina, Venezuela, the United States, and Canada—as well as Spain—and will have the audience as its central element.
CONNECTION WITH LATIN AMERICA
The 24th edition of Clásicos en Alcalá will continue to strengthen its connection with Latin America through the universal words of the texts and verses of Spain’s Golden Age, performed by leading theater and dance companies such as Ron Lalá, Fundación Teatro de la Abadía, Teatro Clásico de Sevilla, Teatro Círculo de New York (United States), The Cross Border Project, the National Theater Company of Mexico, the National Comedy of Uruguay, and the Angulo el Malo company (Argentina).
These are joined by leading directors and personalities such as José Luis Alonso de Santos, Amancio Prada, Celia Freijeiro, Aurora Cano, Alfonso Zurro, Yayo Cáceres, Leticia Dolera, Lucía Miranda, Francesc Albiol, Rebeca Valls, Ana Morgade with Impromadrid, Karmele Aramburu, Pepa Pedroche, Jacobo Dicenta and Arturo Querejeta, and choreographers Mónica Runde and Sara Cano.
MORE THAN 20 NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PREMIERES
This year’s program features more than 20 premieres in total, including the Teatros del Canal Numancia production directed by José Luis Alonso de Santos—which opens the festival—the debut of La Desconquista, Ron Lalá’s new offering with playwriting by Álvaro Tato and direction by Yayo Cáceres; and the preview of Hacia Ecos de lo sagrado by Ana Zamora.
Also notable are the national premieres of La Vis Cómica, written and directed by Mauricio Kartun, one of the Argentine directors who has revolutionized theatrical language; El Alcalde de Zalamea, directed by Daniel Alonso of the Teatro Círculo in New York; and La Hija del Aire, by the Mexican company Luna de Plata.
Other premieres, such as La Gitanilla by Fundación Teatro la Abadía, directed by Uruguayan Mariana Wainstein; Soldadescas by Teatro Yeses, directed by Elena Cánovas, with plays by Julieta Soria and music by Juan Cañas; the illustrated concert by Sofía Comas and Javier Olivares (National Comic Award winner) Mira que te has de morir, mira que no sabes cuando (Look, you have to die, look, you don’t know when), and the dance performance by La Mínima with La cómica de cueva (The comic from the cave) are a sample of the richness and variety of the 2025 program.
Furthermore, companies such as Morboria, celebrating its 40th anniversary, will be visiting Alcalá on their summer tour with Lo que son mujeres (Women Are the Ones) directed by Eva del Palacio; Marcela (a song by Cervantes) by the Sociedad Cervantina (Cervantes Society), directed by Leticia Dolera; Entre rimas y riberas (Between rhymes and shores), directed by Gabriel Calderón and Lluis Homar, a co-production by CNTC and the National Company of Uruguay; Vanessa Espín’s Little Moves, a CNTC and ElenArtesescénicas production; Calderón’s Auto Sacramental, El Teatro del Mundo, seen by For The Fun Of It; the National Theater Company of Mexico with Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz’s Los empeños de una casa (The Pawn Shops of a House) directed by Aurora Cano; La Selva sin Amor (The Jungle Without Love) by La Máquina Real (The Royal Machine), and much more.
MORE PROGRAMMING FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
This edition once again features the artistic direction of Clara Pérez, who has focused the program on strengthening the offerings, paying special attention to family audience appeal. “In the era of screens, the early use of networks and platforms, and technological dependence, we must give children unique and real experiences that can be shared with the family, that excite and generate happy memories,” says the director regarding the 2025 program.
Noteworthy are the presence of street companies such as Atakama Creatividad Cultural, Gaac, Palo Q’SEA, Baychimo Teatro, the Zigurat Circus Band, the Tchyminigagua Foundation (Colombia), which premieres Al divino Narciso (Al divino Narciso) at the Loa Hispanoamericana festival—with dramaturgy by Amaranta Osorio—Titiriscopio, Espectáculos Arlequina, K de Calle, and its premiere of Klavileño, which will be alongside historic Alcalá companies such as Teatro la Jara and La Nacencia, Maru-Jasp, and La posada de hojalata.
Also unmissable are the spectacular puppet shows, such as Don Quixote in the Gracious Adventure of the Titerero by Teatro Arbolé, El Cielo de Sefarad by Claroscuro Teatro and Teatro de la Zarzuela, Don Quixote Nómada by bricAbrac, as well as the triple theater, circus, and music show FARRA by the National Classical Theater Company (CNTC) & Cía Lucas Escobedo, a specialist in physical theater and circus, or La Loca Historia del Siglo de Oro, also a circus show, by La Escalera de Tijera & Z Teatro.
Also worth noting is the exhibition Actors without a Soul: A Thousand Years of Stage Figures from the Máquina Real, which can be visited throughout the Festival in the Capilla del Oidor.
Throughout the month of May, a collaboration will be established with educational centers such as the Antonio Machado High School—specializing in the performing arts—and the Pious Schools, bringing companies such as Impromadrid and Colectivo Légolas into the classrooms to spark curiosity about the classics. Additionally, Óscar Camín, founder of the company Mambo Decorados, will give a talk to students from the School of Art and artistic baccalaureate and vocational training programs at Antonio Machado.
As part of the festival, various academic activities will take place, such as the Golden Age Theater Conference, directed by Luciano García Lorenzo, the International Classroom led by Ignacio Rodulfo Hazen, and the Academy of Spectators led by Juana Escabias, sponsored by the SGAE Foundation, serving as a platform for training and creative exchange with students visiting from other universities.
LIVE CONCERTS AND MUSICAL PROGRAMMING
Of particular note is the musical program, featuring performances by Raúl Losánez and the Cía. del Figurín Diálogos de Oro, Impromadrid’s improvisation and musical theater offerings with El que tropieza y no cae (He Who Troops and Doesn’t Fall), and the participation of the Cervantes Philharmonic Orchestra of the 25 Villas with the world premiere of the recital En Clave de Quijote (In the Key of Quixote, Melody of Adventures), not to mention Amancio Prada’s concert De amor y celular (Of Love and Cell) on a more intimate level.
SUPPORT FOR VALENCIAN COMPANIES
In support of those affected by the DANA (Dana Disease), Clásicos en Alcalá is featuring several performances from the Valencian Community this year, such as La viuda valenciana (The Valencian Widow) by Cía. La Valenciana, El Agua de Valencia (The Water of Valencia) by Yapadú Produccions, Calacas (The Estranya Theatre Company), and, the aforementioned, FARRA (Farra) by CNTC and Cía. Lucas Escobedo. In addition, national companies from Aragon, Extremadura, Andalusia, Catalonia, Castilla-La Mancha and Castilla León, Asturias, Galicia, and the Community of Madrid join the cultural fabric essential to the city of Creación Alcalá.