‘L’oreneta’ triumphs at the 2022 Premis Butaca
L’oreneta was the big winner in the spoken-theatre categories at the Premis Butaca de Teatre gala held last Monday. The Catalan version of La golondrina, premiered at La Villarroel and co-produced by Focus, LaZona Teatro and Un 9 Teatre a l’Est, took the five most coveted awards of the night: Best Text (Guillem Clua), Best Leading Actor (Dafnis Balduz), Best Leading Actress (Emma Vilarasau), Best Director (Josep Maria Mestres) and Best Production. Inspired by the homophobic attack carried out in an LGBTQI+ bar in Orlando, USA, in 2016, which left around fifty people dead, the play was considered by the audience the best show seen in Barcelona between the 2021 and 2022 Grec festivals.
“There was a lot of competition, very strong competition, and I wasn’t sure about anything,” Clua said after the gala. “I have won awards in other countries, but receiving recognition at home is special, especially because they have rewarded everyone nominated from this Catalan production.” The play continues touring. This weekend it is in L’Hospitalet and in April it will return to La Villarroel for a second season.
L’oreneta left no chance for the other nominated theatre productions, including Animal negre tristesa, El pes d’un cos and El cos més bonic que s’haurà trobat mai en aquest lloc. In musical theatre, the big winner was Singin’ in the Rain, which received eight awards.
