Barcelona (play)

Barcelona is a dramatic play by American playwright Bess Wohl about a tourist named Irene who meets Manuel, a grounded Spaniard, and the events leading to a one-night stand. The play premiered in 2013 at the Contemporary American Theater Festival and has since been produced in Los Angeles in 2016, starring Betty Gilpin and Carlos Leal, and on the West End in 2024 starring Lily Collins and Álvaro Morte.

Plot

The play follows Irene, a drunken American tourist, in Barcelona, Spain who crosses paths with Manuel, a brooding local Spaniard. The two share a one-night stand filled with power outages, rusty plumbing and a political game of cat-and-mouse as their lives, cultures and experiences clash.

Production history

The play made its world premiere on July 6, 2012, at the Contemporary American Theater Festival in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Directed by Charles Morey, the production starred Anne Marie Nest as Irene and Jason Manuel Olazabal as Manuel. DC Theatre Scene praised the production, calling it "first-rate, with intelligent, spot-on acting and directing to match Wohl’s perceptiveness and wit."

It then premiered at People's Light and Theatre Company in Malvern, Pennsylvania in 2013, running June 3 to June 30, 2013. The production was directed by Jackson Gay and starred Julianna Zinkel and Robert Montano as Irene and Manuel, respectively. The production received generally positive reviews, with WHYY-TV praising Gay's direction and the cast's performance, though noted that it "wasn’t an altogether satisfying aftertaste."

The play made its West Coast premiere in Los Angeles in 2016 at the Geffen Playhouse, directed by Trip Cullman and starring Betty Gilpin as Irene and Carlos Leal as Manuel. The production ran from February 2, 2016, through March 13, 2016, and received positive reviews. The Los Angeles Times praised the production for "(staying) one step ahead of theatergoers" and lauded the show's "precisely calibrated" direction and "superlative acting." TheatreMania positively received the show, praising Gilpin's performance as having "considerable charisma" and Leal's "elusive and a little dangerous" portrayal of Manuel. The production was nominated for seven Ovation Awards, including Best Production of a Play.

In 2020, Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, Illinois announced the play as part of their 2020/21 season, with Cullman returning to direct. Caroline Neff was set to perform the show as a solo show, with an opening on January 28, 2021, but the production was ultimately cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic-related season changes.

In 2024, a new production of the play was announced on the West End in London at the Duke of York's Theatre starring Lily Collins as Irene and Álvaro Morte as Manuel. Directed by Lynette Linton, the production ran from October 21, 2024, through January 11, 2025. The production received mixed reviews, with The Guardian calling it a "curiously flat drama mixing suspense, comedy and politics", while Strand Magazine praised it as "evocative" and called the performances "brilliant." Collins received particular praise, with The Standard praising her performance as "sensational" and noting that "her appearance generates a crackle of excitement."

Cast and characters

Awards and nominations

2016 Los Angeles production