El Conde de Torrefiel
El Conde de Torrefiel is the name of the theatre collective formed by Pablo Gisbert (Ontinyent, 1982) and Tanya Beyeler (Lugano, Switzerland, 1980), two central figures of the new European dramaturgy and its renewal through the post-dramatic gaze. Their joint career, which began in 2010 in Barcelona, has broken conventional patterns in the performing arts and redefined the limits of contemporary theatre through a language that combines philosophical text, performative action and images of high visual impact.
Trained in Philosophy (Gisbert) and in dance and performance (Beyeler), the duo articulates a type of scene where the narrative does not fall so much on the plot or the characters, but on a combination of voice-over, stage presence and abstract thought. Their pieces are a kind of stage essays that mix black humor, social criticism and visual poetry, often with an atmosphere between dystopian and everyday.
The conceptual and provocative theater of Pablo Gisbert and Tanya Beyeler
Titles such as La chica de la agencia te dijo que ibas a morir (2012), Escenas para una conversación después del visionado de una película de Michael Haneke (2016) or Los protagonistas (2023) exemplify the radical style of El Conde de Torrefiel. Their shows invite a sensory and intellectual experience that often makes you uncomfortable or disconcerted, but never leaves you indifferent. The word is presented as an internal voice that challenges the viewer while the bodies on stage act in an almost dehumanized or choreographic way.
The collective often works with non-professional artists and proposes seemingly banal scenes that, in contrast to the texts, generate a disturbing tension. This contrast between visual banality and the density of discourse is one of its hallmarks.
El Conde de Torrefiel: from the independent scene to international success
Based in Barcelona, the project has achieved remarkable international projection. They have presented their works in leading theaters and festivals such as the Kunstenfestivaldesarts (Brussels), the Avignon Festival, the Tokyo Festival, Wiener Festwochen, Temporada Alta or the Grec in Barcelona. They have been enthusiastically welcomed by a new generation of spectators open to a more conceptual, open and convention-free theater.
Pablo Gisbert and Tanya Beyeler, with El Conde de Torrefiel, have opened a unique path within the European scene, combining critical thinking, formal radicality and a lucid and disturbing look at the present.
