In Spain, gender-based violence remains a devastating and deeply rooted reality. Almost one in three women over the age of 16 has suffered violence from a partner or former partner, and many have experienced sexual violence beyond a relationship. Yet around 70 percent of victims never report their abuser, often through fear, shame or a lack of trust in the system.
In Catalonia, a quietly radical theatre initiative is working to break that silence through lived testimony rather than slogans. Developed by the Support and Information Service for Women (SIE) of Alt Empordà in collaboration with social theatre company Enraona Teatre, the project brings together survivors of gender-based violence and invites them to transform their experiences into non-fiction theatre.
Psychologist Aroha Cortés explains that the project began with a careful question: “When Eva shared the idea, we assessed how to make it possible.” The answer lay in collaboration. “By coincidence, I followed Enraona Teatre on social media, a social theatre company that immediately felt motivated by it.”
Participation is never taken lightly. The women involved are already in advanced therapeutic processes, with mental-health professionals closely involved to ensure the work remains supportive rather than harmful.
FROM THERAPY TO THE STAGE
The result is Ara Jo! (Now Me!), a scriptless production performed by 18 women who become actresses of their own pasts. For Enraona Teatre’s director Mariona Bosch, the focus is firmly on the journey rather than the applause. “The final performance isn’t the important thing, the key is the collective therapeutic process,” she explains. “That’s why there is no script: the actresses use their own words, their experiences, their emotions. They decide what they tell, how they tell it, and when they feel ready to do so.”
Amalia, actress, performing flamenco dance during a rehearsal. Figueres, Spain.
Bosch’s belief in theatre as a social tool is rooted in personal experience. “My eldest daughter attempted suicide twice because she was being bullied at school,” she says. “As theatre teachers, we also saw that many of our students, out of fear or shame, struggled to open up.” It was then, she explains, that Enraona Teatre chose to move beyond commercial theatre and use performance as a form of support and care.
Creating a safe environment is central to the work. “The most important thing at first is getting to know each other and creating a space of comfort where bonds can grow, where everyone feels totally free to speak,” Bosch says. She is also clear about the limits of theatre alone: “We are directors and theatre teachers, we know our limitations. That’s why we need the support of mental-health professionals.”
SILENCE ONLY PROTECTS THE ABUSER
For the women involved, that protected space often becomes the first place they are heard without judgement. Pili, one of the participants, recalls her own disbelief: “I never imagined I would be here today.” She speaks openly of childhood abuse and the fear that kept her silent for years. “When you’re a child, you freeze in the face of this kind of aggression,” she says. “You feel guilty and you say nothing.” Her realisation is stark: “Eventually I realised that silence only protected the abuser.” Today, she says, “Participating in this project has transformed me… Now we have the chance to be heard. What I value most is that this may help someone else break their silence.”
at the Roses theatre on opening day.
backstage at the Roses Theatre on opening day.
Raquel’s testimony reflects a pattern many victims recognise. “When our relationship began, he was charming, until the mistreatment started,” she explains. “It was a cycle.” Seeking help was not linear; at first she returned to her abuser. “It wasn’t true,” she says now. “The charming person I met at first was nothing but a lie.”
Speaking publicly became an act of reclaiming control. “I had remained silent for too long. I needed to tell my story,” Raquel says. No longer hiding, she explains, has been transformative. She has since returned to education and is studying psychology, hoping one day to help other women in similar situations.
Mimi’s decision to speak was triggered by her daughter. “I decided to speak out when I knew that my daughter was suffering the same thing I suffered when I was a child,” she says. Once her daughter spoke, “everything I had kept silent resurfaced.” Both sought professional support through the SIE. Mimi also points to systemic frustrations, noting that “the slow pace of the judicial system… prevents victims from moving forward with their recovery.”
Even so, moments of hope emerge. “One day, after a session, I went home and told my husband, ‘I think I can be myself again,’” she recalls.
BEYOND THE PERFORMANCE
Ara Jo! is not about nviting audiences to admire bravery from a distance. It is about listening in order to recognise patterns and to question prejudices. Early performances have played to full houses, and the production has already received invitations from theatres across Catalonia.
For Bosch, the impact is unmistakable. “They have empowered themselves, they have evolved, and they’ve created an extraordinary cohesion,” she says. “For many of them, there is a before and an after.”
In a society where fear still keeps many women silent, this initiative offers a different kind of response: careful, collective and sustained. Sometimes, breaking the silence begins not with a report or a headline, but with a voice finding the courage to speak on stage.
Several performances of Ara Jo! are scheduled across Catalonia in 2026, including at the Correctional Puig de les Basses, Figueres on 1st February 2026, on Navata, Alt Empordà on 8th March 2926, and in Reus on the 25th November 2026. The dates for performances in Peralada, Llança and Barcelona are yet TBC.
Tickets are free, ensuring accessibility and reinforcing the project’s core belief: that these stories must be heard by as many people as possible.
Email: info@enraonateatre.com / Call: (+34) 685 338 569 / Visit: www.enraonateatre.com
Author: Oriol Leza
All photos © Oriol Leza @urile79photo
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