Teatro Valle-Inclán (Madrid)

The Teatro Valle-Inclán is a public theatre, located in the Plaza de Lavapiés in Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain, on the site formerly occupied by the Sala Olimpia (formerly the Olimpia cinema). Throughout its history as a popular neighbourhood theatre, it was the setting for dramas, comedies, zarzuelas and film re-releases; its space was also used to celebrate carnival balls. From the time of the Transition, it was used to exhibit innovative contemporary theatre productions.

Since 2005 it has been the second headquarters of the Centro Dramático Nacional (whose main headquarters is the María Guerrero theatre, also in Madrid), and has two halls: the Valle-Inclán theatre itself, in honour of the famous playwright of the generation of 98, with 450 seats and the Francisco Nieva hall with 150 seats arranged as an Italian theatre.

History

The space occupied by the Valle-Inclán in the Plaza de Lavapiés, at the corner of Calle de Argumosa and Calle de Valencia, had antecedents in a succession of theatre halls (first “Lo Rat Penat” and then a short-lived “Teatro Chueca”).

In 1999, the INAEM (Ministry of Education and Culture) and the Madrid City Council signed an agreement for the construction of a new theatre, stating that the old building suffered serious structural damage and could hardly be rehabilitated. In 2001, the old theatre was demolished and in 2002 reconstruction work was undertaken, with the Madrid City Council taking on the civil engineering work and the Ministry of Culture the facilities and technical equipment. The works were completed in 2005 and on 21 February 2006 the new theatre building was inaugurated with the play Divinas palabras (Divinas palabras) by Ramón María del Valle-Inclán, after which the theatre had been renamed.