Teatre Círcol Maldà | Barcelona

I’ve now seen quite a few plays at this small círcol (Catalan for ‘circle’) right in the heart of the Gothic Quarter. Among them, the unforgettable ‘La història del senyor Sommer’ (The Story of Mr Sommer) by Patrick Süskind, masterfully performed by the Menorcan actor Pep Tosar, who runs the venue.

The room is part of a palace built by the Cortada family in the 17th century, which later belonged to the Barons of Maldà. One of them wrote the voluminous ‘Calaix de sastre’ (literally ‘tailor’s drawer’, a miscellany), a 52-volume personal diary describing day-to-day life in 18th-century Barcelona and recording the customs, anecdotes and curiosities of the time. It is like an open balcony from which you can watch both the street and the inside of the palace. It is one of the most important texts of Catalan narrative between the 15th and 19th centuries. In the mid-20th century, the heir of the Barons of Maldà, Alfonso de Vilallonga, turned this space into a concert hall.

It’s a small space, with room for about 70 people, and it still hosts concerts as well as alternative plays, some of them of remarkable quality. It’s a good idea to read the reviews beforehand.

Interestingly, this room of the palace, now converted into a performance space with no artistic value whatsoever, was once used as the ‘smoking room’ of the Baroness of Maldà. She was the grandmother of the writer José Luis de Vilallonga, Marquis of Castellvell, known for his hectic life in high-society circles, who played a Brazilian millionaire in the film ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’, alongside the unforgettable Audrey Hepburn.

Address: C/del Pi 5, esc dreta (right-hand staircase), 08002 Barcelona

Phone: 93 304 39 99

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