The Compañía Nacional de Teatro Clásico begins the 2024-2025 season at the Teatro de la Comedia in Madrid (calle Príncipe, 14) with the production directed by Lluís Homar of the classic El gran teatro del mundo (The great theatre of the world), by Calderón de la Barca.
The production, which will be presented until 24 November, features the actors Clara Altarriba, Pablo Chaves, Malena Casado, Antoni Comas, Carlota Gaviño, Chupi Llorente, Pilar Gómez, Yolanda de la Hoz, Jorge Merino, Aisa Pérez and Pablo Sánchez.
The great theatre of the world is perhaps the most famous sacramental self of Calderón de la Barca, and one of the greatest theatrical productions of the Golden Age. It was first performed in Valencia in 1641 during the Corpus Christi, a Catholic festival that was especially promoted after the Council of Trent (1573), and in which it was decided what were to be the elements of transubstantiation, that is, the conversion during the Eucharist of bread and wine in the body and blood of Christ.
Son of the Counter-Reformation Calderón knew the power of the theater to change the consciousness of the spectators, combining an imaginary stage unprecedented in his time with philosophical and spiritual reflections to propose to the spectators, from the end of the 17th century to the present day, broad reflections on the nature of our existence and the values that go with it.
The play describes life as a staging and the world as a great theatre in which only through death one reaches eternal life. Each character plays a role (archetype) and at the end of the play will receive a prize or punishment according to what he has done in life.
Calderón presents the great audacity of God visiting our world to organize a theater function with the human race as actors and the Law of Grace as a pointer, also can only help the fragilities of the interpreters by providing a few words that say “To do well, that God is God” allows itself to express a good part of the philosophical tensions that occupied the minds of its fellow citizens at the time and which are still in force. Tickets can be purchased at this link.
