The 2001 Grec Festival represented a particularly sweet moment in its history, for that year marked the 25th anniversary of a performing arts festival that has become an vital ingredient in Barcelona cultural life.
The milestone was commemorated by the publication of a book, Grec 25 anys [“Grec 25 Years”], which looked back over the history of the festival, as well as listing all the shows performed over the first quarter of a century of its life. A video was also produced, featuring sequences from productions that had been staged and artists who had performed at different Grec venues.
The commemorative events also included a discussion forum, which took the shape of three debates, staged on July 2, 6 and 9, respectively, under the following titles: “About Don Juan”; “Grec 1976” and “Public Theatre, Private Theatre, Institutional Theatre”. Writers, directors, actors and specialised journalists, including Jordi Coca, Mario Gas, Lluís Homar, Maurizio Scaparro, Ricard Salvat and Gonzalo Pérez de Olaguer, were guests at these sessions, which took place at the Convent de Sant Agustí.
However, this being the Grec, celebrations could not but include a theatrical and popular component. Accordingly, Els Comediants were commissioned to intervene over twenty-five days on the façade of the Palau de la Virreina, in the Rambla, inviting a well-known personality from the world of the theatre on each occasion. Their guests, who ranged from Mario Gas to Quim Lecina, from Carme Portaceli to Paco Mir, and so on, all took this opportunity to proclaim their wishes for the future.
Remember, too, that if you want in-depth knowledge about the first twenty-five years of the Grec Festival, you only need to click on the following link: https://www.barcelona.cat/grec/arxiugrec/en/creation-festival
