The 33rd MUTESAC Faces Its Final Weekend with Four Live Theatre Proposals

The 33rd Showcase of Spanish Theatre by Contemporary Authors Guillermo Heras (MUTESAC) is approaching its final weekend with the last four performances of the edition: on Friday at the Teatre Arniches, on Saturday at the Teatro Principal in Alicante, and on Sunday with a double feature combining a street proposal and the closing at Arniches. These performances will bring an end to an edition characterised by high attendance and the contemporary pulse of its programming.

The weekend will kick off with 'Ubasute' by Paula Carballeira, performed by the Galician company Berrobambán Teatro, a piece framed within the thematic axis 'aging' among the six proposed by the programme this edition. The play reflects on abandonment and its many forms, reminding us that there is no place to escape from memory or the poetry that evokes it. It draws from the Japanese term "ubasute" (literally, "abandonment of an old woman") associated with the supposed practice of leaving a sick relative in the mountains, to delicately and powerfully explore guilt, ghosts, and the weight of memories that return when we believe we have distanced ourselves.

On Saturday, at 7:00 PM at the Teatro Principal in Alicante, the multi-award-winning 'El día del Watusi', a theatrical adaptation by Iván Morales of Francisco Casavella's novel, will be presented in a production by the company Los Montoya alongside the Grec Festival of Barcelona. The play follows Fernando Atienza on his journey through Barcelona during the late Franco era, the Transition, and the Olympic dream of '92, with a turning point: "the day of the Watusi" (15 August 1971), when he saw a corpse for the first time. The production has been recognised with the 2024 Butaca Awards for best show, best actor (Enric Auquer), and best supporting actor (Guillem Balart); the 2024 Critics Awards for best show, adaptation/dramaturgy and direction (Iván Morales), best lead actor (Enric Auquer), and best supporting actors (Raquel Ferri and Guillem Balart); and the 2025 Max Award for best actor (Enric Auquer).

Sunday will begin with two performances, at 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM, of the street proposal 'Break Time' by creator Estela Santos, whose tickets are sold out. Conceived as an audio guide to explore public space, the piece invites each spectator to alter their perception of time through a guided walk that, supported by listening and shared presence, generates an experience that is both individual and collective. Drawing from physics references and resources of sensory perception and imagination, 'Break Time' questions the common notion of time and offers a subjective and poetic view of the urban environment.

The final act of the Showcase will take place at 7:00 PM at the Teatre Arniches, with the presentation of 'Canviarem bolquers segons el BOE', by Patrícia Pardo for the company Contrahecho Producciones. The play, a tender and absurd comedy about caregiving, revolves around the challenge and desire that, as family members, neighbours, and society, we have carried since the dawn of humanity: to care, to be cared for, and not to explode in the attempt.