The University of Alicante presents its late-year cultural program housed in the Auditorium, featuring a rich mix of performing arts and visual exhibitions. The lineup includes ten performances spanning circus, theatre, music, and dance, complemented by five exhibitions that run through December. The schedule reflects a dynamic cultural offering with an approximate budget of 40,000 euros, unveiled today by UA’s leadership for Culture, and marks the first time two Portuguese and Romanian productions are included. The Inclusa-Culture project continues to broaden accessibility at MUA, extending its reach within UA’s museum spaces since its inception last year.
Among the highlights is a humorous electrical performance by Make Company Chapito from Portugal, staged on October 26. The production employs physical theatre, strong visuals, and careful staging to transcend language barriers, making subtitles unnecessary and relying on gestures and imagery to convey meaning. In Bucharest, UNATC and Cinematografică IL Caragiale offer support with Cântec pentru noéma, a production by Canadian writer Daniel Danis that blends humor with poetry to explore human experience, presented on November 16.
UA emphasizes that these offerings advance two core strategic goals: internationalizing culture at the university while preserving bilingualism and broadening accessibility in the visual and performing arts, notably through Spanish subtitles for foreign productions.
Els ocells, a production by the Barcelona company La Calòrica, is highlighted as part of the Valencia theatre program. The show, captured by Anna Fabrega, is a contemporary ensemble work inspired by Aristophanes and examines the rise of neoliberal populism and its emotional drivers. The program also features a special event on November 9: a total solar eclipse performance by the Valencia-based Floating Bridge company within the Spanish Contemporary Writers Theater XXX Exhibition, continuing through November 30 with musical theatre focused on Joan Fuster when Pau Alabajos pays tribute to the Valencian thinker and writer. The works draw on Fuster’s writings to reflect cultural movements, with Nova Canco presenting songs by Raimon, Lluís Llach, Maria del Mar Bonet, Ovidi Montllor, and Al Tall.
Earlier, the UA cultural program announced a circus show on October 19 by Fkanys Bimsa of the Circus Arts Vocational Training Center CREAT. Ten performers blend humor, melancholy, and vertigo as part of Circarte, while a dance piece titled The Company’s A Lot of Girls will be on stage on November 23 to mark the Day Against Gender-Based Violence through reinterpretations of universal dance myths.
Benjamin Sun directs a November 29 performance titled The Origins of Your Music, The Entertainer Teachers, which explores the evolution of popular music from prehistory to the present. The show features high school students alongside guitarist Alberto Perez, cellist Morela Giménez, and other musicians. An IES Romeo and Juliet program, directed by Xiomara Wanden-Berghe and based on a text by Antonio Zurro, is scheduled for October 25. The UA Theater Class will oversee this collaborative production with a focus on drama education.
Shlomo Rodriguez and the AU Choir will present a Christmas court concert on December 14, showcasing a diverse blend of musical and cultural traditions. In infrastructure news, renovations funded by the Vice Rector for Infrastructure include LED lighting upgrades in Paraninfo, totaling 225,000 euros, which are expected to cut electricity consumption by about 75%.
Ticket pricing remains accessible, with most events priced at 5 euros. Some exceptions apply to the UA Choir concert, priced at 3 euros, and to IES events. Wednesday evening performances, typically at 7:00 pm, are common, though there are occasional deviations.
Exhibitions
Three new exhibitions have opened at MUA: VIII Artistic Creation and Research Residences in the Sempere Room, running until November 20, 2022; Revers.a/ Revers.o/ Revers.e. Alice (2016-2022) curated by Antoni Miró in Sala El Cub2 through January 15, 2023; and Semper’s light. Centenary 1923-2023 in the Arcadi Blasco Room, on display until July 23, 2023. The exhibitions feature works from MUA’s permanent collection, accompanying documents, photographs, and publications celebrating Doctor Honoris Causa recognition awarded to the Alicante campus in 1984, along with related catalogs and books about the artist’s life and work.
A new DATA installation by Massimo Pisano will open at 6:00 pm on Friday in Sala El Cub and remain on view through February 5, 2023. Begona M. Deltell, director of the Aural gallery, notes that Pisano is an Italian artist who has lived in Alicante for more than twenty-five years. The show surveys pieces from the 1970s to the present, including some works never shown in Spain, across photography, video, and installation media.
Accessibility remains a priority for the Inclusa-Culture initiative. After recent actions in Sala Alcudia, collaboration with Hidraqua will expand access across additional spaces, including the Arcadi Blasco room and Espai Arcadi Blasco, underlining UA’s ongoing commitment to inclusive culture. Additional exhibitions will be hosted at campus venues such as Sala Aifos, featuring Rogue Look: Portraits and Caritratos by Carlos Martinez Rivera, opening at noon on October 7, and a photo exhibition in Conference Hall II titled Standing between dust and sand, focusing on youth rights for the Saharawi people organized by Nuria Gonzalez.