© Alejandra Amere
Show
Analphabet
Alberto Cortés
March 3 – 4, 2026
Running time: 65'
Tickets on sale from mid-December 2025
Full price: € 24
Under 30 / Over 65 / Groups: € 17
Students: € 12
Membership: included in the subscription
Two lovers quarrel furiously on a beach at sunset when suddenly a ghost named Analphabet appears on the water. With its songs and poems of love, this romantic spirit heals toxic relations while throwing light on the outdoor "cruising" sites where secret encounters take place, a firmly established element of the LGBTQ+ community's imaginary. The hypnotic prose of Andalusian director and performance artist Alberto Cortés – a recent revelation on the international art scene – makes for a riveting spectacle based on José Bergamín's book La decadencia del analfabetismo, a critique of a society that sacrifices poetry for rational order, insisting that everything be organized, legible and set, just like the alphabet. In a touchingly surprising performance, Analphabet explores the theme of intra-gender violence in queer relations marked by the legacy of the patriarchal system.
Alberto Cortés (Malaga, 1983) is a director, playwright, and performer. He graduated from ESAD Malaga in Directing and Playwriting and in Art History at the University of Malaga. In 2009, he began his artistic journey, working with various formats and disciplines in an attempt to explore the intangible, the spiritual, and the human through theatre, dance, and performance, as well as folklore, flamenco, and site-specific work. He conceives the stage as a space of desire and of a romantic relationship with the audience. His works have been presented at numerous institutions and festivals in Spain (Teatros del Canal, Mercat de les Flors, Festival de Otoño, Dansa Valencia, BAD, Sâlmon, TNT, Teatro Central, FIT, Conde Duque, Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, and Teatro Español) and internationally (FITEI, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, BoCA, and Festival d’Automne in Paris).
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Info
Performance in Spanish with Italian and English surtitles
Credits
Concept, dramaturgy, texts, direction and interpretation: Alberto Cortés
Violin: Luz Prado
Lighting design: Benito Jiménez
Lighting technicians: Benito Jiménez
Sound: Óscar Villegas
Technical coordination: Cristina Bolívar
Piano recordings: César Barco
Scenic space: Víctor Colmenero
Subtitles: Marion Cousin
Costumes: Gloria Trenado
External view: Mónica Valenciano
Photography: Alejandra Amere
Video: Johann Pérez Viera
Production: El Mandaíto Producciones SL
A co-production of: TNT Terrasa Noves Tendències, Centro de Cultura Contemporánea Condeduque, FITEI-Festival Internacional de Teatro de Expressáo Ibérica, Centre de les Arts Lliures de la Fundació Joan Brossa and Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro de Cádiz
With the collaboration of: Azala, Graner, Goethe-Institut Madrid, Escena Patrimonio, Festival de Otoño de Madrid, Programa de Residencias Artísticas de la Agencia Andaluza de Instituciones Culturales and Ayuntamiento de La Rinconada
Highlights
Veduta della Torre Littoria
Interno del Tunnel Pneu, progetto di Jonathan De Pas, Donato D’urbino e Paolo Lomazzi
Lampadario "carciofo" di Poul Henningsen, nella sezione della Danimarca
Installazione luminosa "Luce spaziale" di Lucio Fontana sul soffitto dello Scalone d’onore. Nel vestibolo del primo piano, decorazione parietale di Bruno Cassinari