Summer at the Grec Festival. Fall in Gràcia. This October, Henry V kicks off our season at our historic theatre. Director Pau Carrió, La Kompanyia Lliure, and Pep Ambròs, Albert Prat and María Rodríguez take us on our first journey into Shakespeare’s universe in a production where live music – served up by Arnau Vallvé, the drummer from indie pop band Manel – enters into a dialogue with the text. Join us as we discover the value of victory.

Pol López and I have been thinking about staging Henry V for a while. Ever since we joined forces for Ivan i els gossos and Lluís Pasqual started tossing around the idea of La Kompanyia Lliure, I’ve felt like I’d found the perfect traveling companions to tell the marvelous story of Henry V. But to do so, I needed to start with his first steps as a prince, retold in Henry IV.
The tale of Henry is one of a prince far removed from his court, a prince who keeps rather questionable companions, a prince nobody believes will grow up to be a great king – not even his father.The young prince is crowned heir to a money-strapped kingdom. Stirred up by the church, he declares war to lay claim to his ancient dynastic rights to the throne of France. To everyone’s surprise, he wins the war and becomes a hero. But what lessons does he learn from this victory?
Epic narratives of war, defeat and triumph sweep through our lives, from education to leisure, economics and politics to the public sphere. Why are we so drawn to winning? Is living to win worth it? Is victory a valid collective goal? Should our images of ourselves be based on defeating others? On the path toward victory, what is lost and what is gained?
Pau Carrió