Overview of the Seventh Playwriting Tournament
Eight playwrights from the Iberian Peninsula will engage in a dramatic face-off in pairs. The participants include two from Alicante, two from Castellón, and four from Valencia. The event marks the seventh edition of the Playwriting Tournament organized by the Institut Valencià de Cultura and was officially presented today.
The tournament centers on a compact, approximately 30-minute performance of two-person reads set inside a boxing ring. Actors or actresses of professional caliber perform the texts, bringing the pages to life in a format that blends theatre with sportlike energy.
The project traces its origins to the Girona High Season Festival, where it first gained prestige twelve years ago under the guidance of playwright Jordi Casanovas. Between 2016 and 2017, CREADOR.ES in Valencia edited the program before the Institut Valencià de Cultura assumed leadership. The IVC Assistant Director of Performing Arts, Roberto García, helped raise the profile of the event, while ceremonial host Maria Minaya presents the daily program. Each participating author is introduced in advance, along with the nickname they will use for their fictional bout, echoing the aura of a boxing tournament.
Participants in this seventh edition include Isabel Caballero, Antonio Escámez, Marcos Luis Hernando, Isabel Martí, Tomas Mestre, Eva Mir, David Sánchez Pacheco, and Carmen Valera. The lineup underscores a mix of voices from across the Valencian community and beyond, each bringing a distinct theatrical perspective to the ring.
The writers will not know which actors will perform their texts until two hours before each performance. The audience plays an active role in deciding the outcomes, voting for the most compelling performances at each stage. The quarterfinals, semifinals, and final will unfold in different historic venues: the Teatre Arniches in Alicante will host the opening round, followed by the Teatre Principal in Castelló, the Teatre Rialto in Valencia, and for the first time this year, Teatre La Marina in L’Agrícola and Teatre El Puig de Santa Maria in Alboraya. All venues offer free admission, inviting locals and visitors to witness the drama unfold live.
The second semi-final of the previous year’s Playwriting Tournament is featured in a recent promotional image accompanying this edition, underscoring the continued momentum of the event.
The competition includes a dedicated section labeled fights, highlighting the contest’s boxing-inspired structure. The quarter-final schedule begins with the first match on May 29 at the Arniches Theater in Alicante, followed by a second bout at Teatre Principal de Castelló on May 31. A third clash takes place at Teatre La Marina in El Puig de Santa Maria on June 3, with a fourth fight at Teatre L’Agrícola in Alboraya on June 9. Winners advance to the semifinals, which will be staged at Rialto on June 13 and 15, culminating in the grand finale on June 18 at the Teatre Rialto in Valencia.
Past winners of the Playwriting Tournament have included celebrated names from the Girona High Season Festival. In 2016, the text crocodile girls anyone captured the prize, followed by Mafalda Bellido in 2017 with Push, Adrian Novella in 2018 with Delays, Borja Lopez Collado in 2019 with HYPOCHONDRISART, Sergio Serrano in 2021 with termites, and Amparo Vaya in 2022 with Foreign. These triumphs illustrate the competition’s role in highlighting emerging voices within the contemporary theatre landscape.
The winning author will earn a place in the Playwriting Tournament program of the Girona High Season Festival, reinforcing the cross-festival collaboration that helps sustain regional theatre and bring new writing to broader audiences. The tournament emphasizes community engagement, artistic risk, and the celebration of short, dynamic stage pieces that challenge actors and writers alike. Attribution: Institut Valencià de Cultura and affiliated festival organizers.