Over 2 million theatergoers in 2021-2022, almost as many as before pandemic
Sector celebrates "recovery" and aims for 2.5m spectators in 2022
A total of 2.37 million people enjoyed performances in Catalan theaters throughout the 2021-2022 season, only 6% less than the last one before the pandemic and over 60% more than in 2020-2021.
ADECTA, the Catalan Theater Companies' Association, celebrated the figures it made public on Monday, especially given the mass spread of the Omicron variant in January.
Of the 2.37 million theatergoers, 2.1 million paid to see the shows they attended. All in all, 1,101 different theatrical performances were put on across Catalonia 12,772 times, bringing in €66.4 million in theaters that were on average at over 50% capacity.
Compared to the pre-pandemic 2018-2019 season, there were 17 more shows that were performed 362 times. And while last season saw somewhat fewer spectators, theater companies made €1.911 more.
Isabel Vidal, the president of ADECTA, celebrated the sector's "recovery" and said they now aimed to attract even more people – 2.5 million – this season, which officially kicked off on Monday evening at Barcelona's Liceu opera house with an event celebrating the association's 30th anniversary.
Most popular plays in Spanish
Musicals and comedies in Spanish, such as 'Cantando bajo la lluvia' (Singing in the rain) at the Tívoli theater, 'Billy Elliot' at Teatre Victòria or Teatreneu's 'Improshow', attracted more people than others, although there were more plays overall in Catalan than Spanish – 43% versus 24%, with the rest in other languages.
As for performances in under 200-spectator venues, the most popular were Sala Beckett's 'Animal negre tristesa', 'Crimen Perfecto' at the Sala Arts Teatre, and 'La terranyina' at Teatre del Raval.