A playwright who is also a teacher, director, novelist and translator—familiar with the works of Koltès, Perec, Molière and Goldoni—keeps a dynamic creative voice that has shaped contemporary Catalan theatre. The early work Today’s Kaleidoscopes and Lighthouses, written in 1985 and honored with the Marqués de Bradomín Prize, showcases a kinship with the techniques of the French group Oulipo. Early accolades, including Ignasi Iglesias awards for Elsa Schneider and the Ciutat de Granollers prize for Dins la seva memòria, opened doors to a sequence of premieres such as Elsa Schneider, En Companyia d’abisme and Òpera, and even a film project in 1989. This trajectory marks a move toward renewing Catalan dramaturgy through a bold, experimental stage language that minimizes traditional sets while weaving meta-theatrical moments and a preoccupation with the irretrievable passing of time.
Emerging from studies that connected with Sanchis Sinisterra and Benet i Jornet, and drawing influence from Racine, Beckett and Mamet, the author has written more than thirty theatre texts. Nearly all have premiered, with fourteen later published in two volumes by a notable publishing house associated with a major theatre festival in 2021; this followed an earlier two-volume collection in 2005. Although not a complete catalog, the published works present a selective theatre that includes also unpublished pieces like Tu, abans i després. Several collaborative works and short pieces for specific theatre companies remain outside the main volumes. As noted in the introductory material, revisions over time give the collected plays a definitive, print-ready form, spanning from today’s kaleidoscopes and lighthouses to the comedy Las rosas de la screws, including two-hander pieces involving actors and a dog in 2018.
On the international stage, the career has overcome early setbacks from productions that did not travel as hoped, elevating Caricias to a place of high regard within both Catalan and Spanish-speaking theatre communities. In Elsa Schneider (1987) the dramatic arc emphasizes the self-destructive tension of life and death, punctuated by an undercurrent of absurd humor. Tálem (1990) preserves core structural elements such as repetition and division, while pushing the stage toward a more fragmented, time-aware approach. Instead of relying on a conventional arc, the work invites two friends who must create a freshly ordered two-by-two meter bed, highlighting a playful yet stark sense of constraint.
Among notable published titles is Caricias (1991), a sequence of eleven linked scenes that follows eleven ambiguous characters who feel misunderstood, isolated and emotionally constrained even within intimate moments. They inhabit a fragile microcosm where affection collides with accusation, loneliness and the weight of miscommunication. A lyrical exploration of inner lives unfolds through restrained dialogue, elliptical phrasing and stark, observational humor, culminating in a moment of tenderness that contrasts with the surrounding tension.
Other works probe mortality and the fragility of human plans. Dying (a moment before death) (1994) examines the arbitrariness of fate as a series of scenes depict characters facing death, only to be rewinded by a redemptive twist. Blood (1998) unfolds across five scenes around a political kidnapping, exposing the specters of power, loyalty and fear as events spiral through a network of chance encounters and intertwined motives.
One notable dramatic development is Forasteros (2003), a family drama in two periods that juxtaposes past and present with a lingering sense of unease. The title signals a tension between belonging and alienation, as a stranger’s arrival unsettles a household across decades. The work—adapted to film by a renowned director—highlights the persistence of memory, the weight of inherited patterns, and the way history repeats itself in new forms. The mother’s remark about appearances versus reality underscores the corrosive effects of time on family ties and trust. The play’s temporal structure echoes both classical and contemporary techniques, inviting audiences to reflect on how much has changed and how much remains the same.
Móvil (2005), a digital-age comedy in four parts, centers on four characters who communicate by mobile phone, with one crucial character conspicuously absent. The ensemble includes a housewife aged fifty-five, her daughter in her thirties, a wealthy businesswoman and her son, each navigating dependence, secrecy and the evolving stakes of personal relationships. Set in a hotel during a tense incident at an airport, the piece explores longing, restraint and the sudden, transformative power of crisis. The mobile device itself becomes a mask, a paradoxical instrument that both hides and reveals the truth underneath.
In the late 2000s, Tuscany (2007) revisits a midlife crisis through the lens of a successful architect and his partner who retreat to an Italian setting to probe happiness, fear and the pull of desire. The work blends sharp social observation with an irony that questions contemporary commitments and the expectations of a thriving life. Critics have noted a distinctly contemporary voice that combines lyrical intensity with well-timed humor, marked by cyclical structures and a clear focus on communication breakdowns. This edition invites readers and audiences to see an author who continues to influence the landscape of modern theatre, inviting new generations to listen, imagine and engage with the theatre as an evolving, living form.