Nothing Crazy about Project B
In these troubled times, you’d have to be a bit mental to set up a new English-language theatre company.
Either that or incredibly happy go lucky. Step up to the stage ProjectB. Daniel Jacobs and ProjectB’s other six core members are a passionate and enthusiastic bunch from around the globe. After working together on a variety of amateur theatre shows in the city, they finally felt it was time to do their own thing. Daniel explains: “From a creative point of view, we really bounced off each other. We got on really well and we started to think about what we’d like to do as a group of actors, directors, stage managers and writers.” With a shared love of theatre, a questioning world view and English as a native language, their mission, he says, is to entertain, enrich and educate.
ProjectB’s first production, Bonkers, premiers this month at Mutuo Centro de Arte, a cosy, shabby chic artspace just off Via Laeitana. The show is a collection of six short pieces, some self-penned, based around the central themes of mental health. “It’s an eclectic mix of comedy, singing, poetry and drama, but even when it’s funny, each piece has a serious message behind it about how we as a society respond to issues surrounding mental health” says Daniel. “Mental health problems affect huge amounts of people. How do you know who has them and who doesn’t? A lot of mental health diagnoses are given very quickly, so we look at that and also at obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), which many people don’t normally consider to be a mental health issue.”
While not untroubled by spending cuts to the arts, a steep hike in professional theatre ticket prices and the closure of the Raval’s stalwart theatre space, La Riereta, ProjectB’s members are upbeat about the English theatre scene in the city. “It’s great for English theatre at the moment in Barcelona. There’s so much going on, but there’s always room for more and the potential to do something different. There’s a huge audience for it too. Not just native English speakers but people who have English as a second language and people who want to learn.”
Tickets for the show will set you back €10 on the door but here at Metropolitan we have two pairs of tickets to give away for Saturday 17th November. To enter, visit here and follow the instructions: www.barcelona-metropolitan.com/Bonkers. Winners will be drawn on Monday, November 12th.
Bonkers
Venue: Mutuo Centro de Arte, Julià Portet 5 (metro: Urquinaona)
Tel: 93 302 3943 http://mutuocentro.com/
Dates: Saturday the10th, Sunday the11th, Saturday the 17th, Sunday the 18th of November. (Saturday shows 9pm, Sundays 7pm)
Tickets: €10 on the door. €8 advance through ProjectB’s Facebook page.
If you fancy treading the boards yourself:
Keep up to date with what English theatre is on and where by checking Metropolitan’s website and classified ads and by signing up to our theatre venues newsletters.
You can also try:
www.tinyurl.com/8evcy8b - ProjectB’s Facebook page. They’ll be putting together a new show next year and will be auditioning for some parts.
www.joculartheatre.com - Barcelona’s long-running English theatre company advertise audition dates on their webpage and are always happy to hear from enthusiastic, behind-the-scenes talent
www.englishdramaschool.com - Drop in acting classes in English on Sunday afternoons
www.barcelonaimprovgroup.com - Weekly improvisation workshops open to all.