Roundtable Contemporary Theatre in the Iberian Peninsula

A dialogue between Gonçalo Amorim, Davide Carnevali, Leticia Martin Ruiz, Elisenda Farré Secall, moderated by Rui Pina Coelho


The Iberian Peninsula comprises Peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, along with the smaller territories of Andorra, Gibraltar, and a portion of the French Pyrenees. Covering an area of 582,860 km², it is home to at least eight distinct languages, not counting the growing presence of immigrant languages like Arabic and Berber. So, before anything else—what version of Iberia are we envisioning?

The term “Iberian Peninsula” carries an air of antiquity, almost obsolete in modern discourse. Spain and Portugal rarely identify collectively as Iberians, maintaining distinct national identities. For centuries, the Pyrenees acted as a barrier, isolating the region from the rest of Europe and slowing the tides of time and change.

Both nations still bear the scars of the fascist dictatorships that overshadowed much of the 20th century. What remnants of that era persist today? What forms of resistance have endured, and how has political theatre evolved in the late 20th century and into the new millennium? How does history diverge – and converge – across the diverse landscapes of Iberia?

Theatre is inherently local, yet it refuses to be confined by geography. Like water, it flows beyond borders, resisting any rigid definition. What, then, defines contemporary theatre in Portugal? Where do the contemporary performing arts in Spain stand today? And what insights can we draw from the Iberian experience?


The discussion at the round table is conducted in English


Gonçalo Amorim. Porto, 1976. Artistic Director of Teatro Experimental do Porto, since January 2013 and of FITEI – Festival Internacional de Teatro de Expressão Ibérica, since September 2014. He attended the Anthropology course at Universidade Nova de Lisboa and has a degree from ESTC (Actors and Directors formation). He has been a collaborator and actor at Teatro o Bando since 1999 and was a member of the collective Primeiros Sintomas. As an actor, he also worked with Útero – Associação Cultural, Companhia Olga Roriz, Cão Solteiro, Truta, Teatro da Terra and Artistas Unidos. In cinema he worked with Edgar Feldman, Raquel Freire, Tiago Guedes, José Filipe Costa, Margarida Gil and Edgar Medina. He taught at ESMAE, ACE, Ballet Teatro, Escola das Artes da Universidade Católica Portuguesa e Universidade do Minho. As a director, he collaborated with the following structures: Teatro o Bando, Comédias do Minho, Culturgest, Teatro Aberto, Teatro Nacional Dona Maria II, Teatro Nacional São João, Teatro da Terra, Teatroàparte, Primeiros Sintomas/Teatro Maria Matos, Alkantara, Movimenta-te and ZDB/Negócio, Teatro São Luiz. In 2007, he received the Critics Award (APCT) for staging the show Shopping & Fucking, by Mark Ravenhill; and in 2012 he received Special Mention from APCT for his work as director in 2011. He has collaborated regularly with TEP since 2010.

Davide Carnevali. Milan, 1981. Playwright and director, he is associate artist at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano and head of the workshop “Playwrights Under 30” of the Biennale di Venezia Teatro. He obtained a PhD in Theatre Theory at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona with a period of study at the Freie Universität Berlin, and teaches Dramaturgy and Theatre Theory at the Civica Scuola di Teatro Paolo Grassi in Milan, the Institut del Teatre de Barcelona and in the Master programs of the Universidad de Castilla y León and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. He is currently director of the magazine “Estudis Escènics” and collaborates with numerous international publications, dealing mainly with Ibero-American theatre. In 2018 he was awarded the “Premio Hystrio for Dramaturgy”, for his artistic career. His texts, translated into about fifteen languages, have been awarded and presented in seasons and festivals in various countries. He is published in Italy by Einaudi, Il Saggiatore and Luca Sossella Editore; in France by Actes Sud and Les Solitaires Intempestifs. He has also published the essay Forma dramática y representación del mundo en el teatro europeo contemporáneo (Ciudad de México, Paso de Gato, 2017) and the collection of short stories Il diavolo innamorato (Roma, Fandango, 2019). At the Piccolo Teatro di Milano he staged Ritratto dell’artista da morto (Italia ’41 – Argentina ’78); then rewritten in French for Le Quai CDN d’Angers, Comédie de Caen, Comédie de Reims and Théâtre de Liège (2023); and in Catalan for the Teatre Lliure in Barcelona (2024). He has also signed the creation of Limited Edition, a site-specific project for the Porto di mare park; and about ten shows for young audiences as part of the project Il teatro tiene banco.

Leticia Martín Ruiz is an art historian, musicologist, performing arts producer, and cultural manager. She holds degrees in Art History and Music History and Sciences from the Complutense University of Madrid, as well as a Master’s degree in Cultural Management. Her professional career spans both public and private institutions, including the SGAE Foundation, the Teatros del Canal in Madrid—where she served as the Director of Performing Arts Production from 2009 to 2014—the International Music and Dance Festival of San Lorenzo del Escorial, and Tritó Publishing House. Since 2014, she has been the Deputy to the Artistic Director of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, contributing to the design of the theater’s seasonal programming. In 2019, she also took on the role of Director of Production, with responsibilities including overseeing the implementation of the artistic program and managing its budget. Since 2024 she’s the Director of the Grec Festival in Barcelona.

Rui Pina Coelho. Évora, 1975. Scholar, playwright and dramaturg. He is an Assistant Professor at the School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon. He has a PhD in Theatre Studies with a work on the representation of violence in post-WWII British realist drama. He has coordinated the volume Contemporary Portuguese Theatre: Experimentalism, Politics and Utopia [working title] (TNDMII / Bicho do Mato, 2017) and coordinated the Theatre Writing Laboratory of the D. Maria II National Theatre from 2015 to 2019. Since 2010, he has been collaborating regularly with TEP (Oporto Experimental Theatre) as a playwright and dramaturgist. As a playwright, he has published Karl Marx reconté à mes enfants et rappelé au peuple (Les Solitaires Intempestifs, 2022); Tudo é um nada novo: textos para espectáculos na era da economia da atenção (Douda Correria, 2021); Este título não que é muito longo: textos para teatro (2011-2018) (Companhia das Ilhas, 2020); Às vezes quase me acontecem coisas boas quando me ponho a falar sozinho (Companhia das Ilhas, 2013) e Já passaram quantos anos perguntou ele e outros textos (Húmus/TEP, 2013), among other titles.