Juan Carlos Martel will leave the management of the Teatre Lliure on January 31, when the current mandate ends, which began in 2019. The head of the great Catalan theater institution has caused a great surprise after he decided not to opt for a second term of management due, according to sources familiar with the decision, to the theater's difficult governance, which thus accumulates successive crises after the resignation of Lluís Pasqual. A resignation that Martel communicated at yesterday's meeting of the institution's board of trustees so that the process of selecting a new leader for Lliure can begin. The board of trustees, to whom he communicated that there were no internal conditions for the proper development of his project, thanked him for his work, which this year is materializing in a remarkably successful season. Martel declined to discuss his decision with the press yesterday and announced that he will take stock of his years in office in December.
"Mr. Martel Bayod was hired as director of the Teatre Lliure Foundation in January 2019, after being elected by a public competition called for this purpose and the contract will end on January 31, 2024. The director has decided to close the contractual relationship this date because there are no internal conditions necessary for adequate development in the continuity of the project. The board of trustees of the Fundació del Teatre Lliure appreciates the excellent work he has done so far and trusts that he will be able to continue to exercise his position as usual until the end of the contract. This decision does not alter the current program or the one planned for the 2023-2024 season", explains the short statement sent by the Free Theater Foundation.
Martel's departure comes after he was elected to the position due to a serious crisis, which caused the institution to resign from the post of Lluís Pasqual. During the four years since the election - the period was extended by one more due to the time lost due to the pandemic -, Martel has carried out an extensive program of transformation in the theater, and has strongly bet on the programming for the most contemporary creation, while maintaining the great titles of the universal theater repertoire, such as The Three Sisters, by Chekhov, or Tots eren sonles meus, by Arthur Miller.
At the same time, it has pursued the internationalization of the Free and has made a transversal commitment to thinking and educational programs. As a stage director, and adhering to the rule he imposed himself of only directing one production every two seasons, during the term he has produced The Disease, an adaptation of The Evil of Youth, and this season, a Yerma with great reception from critics and the public.
