The Teatre Nacional de Catalunya pays tribute to Serafí Pitarra and his theater play "L'Esquella de la Torratxa"

The Teatre Nacional de Catalunya (TNC) has programmed a series of events relating to the Barcelona-born playwright Frederic Soler, better known as Serafí Pitarra, in commemoration of 150 years since the first performances of L’Esquella de la Torratxa in the Teatre Odeón, Barcelona.

The theatre foyer will host an exhibition entitled Pitarra 1864-1866, organised in collaboration with the Institució de les Lletres Catalanes, in an attempt to explain the importance of the role played by Pitarra in the promotion of Catalan language in Barcelona society through performances of his plays in the Jardins del Passeig de Gràcia.

The TNC has also programmed performances of two plays by the prolific author. On the 7th, 8th and 9th of March the EGOS theatre company will present L’Esquella de la Torratxa, the first of his successes, while the Jove Companyia del Teatre Nacional, founded with the aid of the Institut del Teatre, will present El Cantador from the 2nd to the 13th of April.

The programme of events also includes two conferences. On the 4th of March, Xavier Alberti will begin the series with Fills de Wilfredo el Pelut (això vol dir catalans), while Toni Soler will examine the playwright’s use of humour in the second of the two conferences, De Pitarra a Polònia: com riem els catalans, on the 8th of April. In addition, on Saturday the 29th of March a literary tour entitled Pitarra: de l’Hospital als Jardins will focus on the geography of the city during the author’s lifetime via a tour of Barcelona’s principal 19th century theatres, taking in La Rambla and the Passeig de Gràcia.

Events will continue up to the summer months and will include performances of Safari Pitarra and Liceistes i Cruzados, among others.