'Casting Lear' triumphs alongside 'Afanador' at a Max festival marked by Gaza and the languages ​​of the State

In the season in which two major proposals such as 1936 and Vania x Vania hit the stage, the toast of the 28th edition of the Max Awards for the Performing Arts went to a small (but highly original) work: Casting Lear by Andrea Jiménez, Barco Pirata and Teatro de la Abadía, which won the statuette for best theatrical show and best adaptation (Jiménez and Juan Mayorga). It was a (long) gala, held at the Gayarre Theater in Pamplona, ​​​​where there were demands to stop "the genocide" in Gaza, for peace, for mental health and for linguistic diversity in Spain. Also for culture, dance, the circus, and for space for creators. However, the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun , did not attend to any of the requests. The Minister of Security and Society, Pamplona-born Elma Sáiz , was the only government representative. The president of the Autonomous Community of Navarre, María Chivite , also didn't show up. Perhaps it wasn't the right day to go to the theater (although that wasn't mentioned on stage).

The raspy voice of Pamplona-born Aurora Beltrán , former soloist of Tahures Zurdos, already hinted at the tone of these awards, organized each year by the SGAE. " Tomorrow " and a chorus demanding "take away everything that hurts us" opened the gala at the Gayarre. The Navarrese actresses Natalia Huarte and Ane Sagüés then introduced the gala and showed the pillars that the awards would focus on: red, Basque, and Navarrese folklore . There were no bullfights, though.

Andrea Jiménez (Madrid, 1987), one of the most talked-about creators in recent years, made a fabulous proposal: to direct a different actor each night playing Lear, Shakespeare's famous king. It was much more: a reflection on love, forgiveness, and above all, being a father (and how children view the father-man)... And it was a success: the audience packed the Teatro de la Abadía and asked for more . Wish granted: it can be seen again from February 5 to 15, 2026, at the Abadía. And now with her two Max films from 2025 under her belt. Follow Jiménez on stage.

The other big winner of the night was Afanador , the creation of Valencian Marcos Morau (Ontiyent, 1982) for the Spanish National Ballet, which is breaking all the mold in the world of dance and won the award for best dance performance. What's more, it even won one of the most valuable awards that usually go to text-based plays: Best Director, for Morau, although he didn't come to Pamplona to receive it.

You may not know him, but he's the biggest star of Spanish dance internationally, as he's proven at the helm of his company, La Veronal. In fact, he's now the artist-in-residence at Berlin's Stadt Ballet—he's been named the world's best choreographer by the German magazine TANZ—he was named a Chevalier des Arts in France in 2023, and his works have been performed at the finest theaters and festivals, including the Théâtre national de Chaillot in Paris, the Venice Biennale, the Festival d'Avignon, Tanz Im August in Berlin, the RomaEuropa Festival, the SIDance Festival in Seoul, and Sadler's Wells in London. You may not know him, but he's one of our country's greatest cultural icons outside of Spain. Perhaps the question we should all be asking ourselves is why he remains so unknown outside of the dance world.

Marcos Morau is one of our country's greatest cultural icons outside of Spain. We should ask ourselves why he's so unknown here.

Other awards for this work included Best Costume Design (Sílvia Delagneau), Best Lighting (Bernat Jansà), and Best Musical Composition for a Stage Show (Juan Cristóbal Saavedra, Enrique Bermúdez, Jonathan Bermúdez, Gabriel Georgio González, and Roberto Vozmediano). In total, five Max Awards were awarded, like five suns, to a show born from Ruven Afanador's photographs of flamenco artists such as Israel Galván, Matilde Coral, Eva Yerbabuena, José Antonio, and Rubén Olmo. Morau captured the photographic clicks and what happens there in a production for the National Ballet that is shaking all the dust off traditions . A union of choreography, photography, and music that is bringing audiences to their feet on a worldwide tour and is now arriving at the Teatro de la Zarzuela from July 10 to 20.

Gaza and the State Languages

Juan Cristóbal Saavedra, who collected the award for musical composition, made the first statement of the evening regarding Gaza by wearing a Palestinian flag badge on his T-shirt and noting that the proceeds from one of the Teatro de la Zarzuela performances will benefit Palestinian refugees. He was followed by the Lucas Escobedo Company and the National Classical Theatre Company, who collected the award for best musical for " Farra " and also demanded "an end to the genocide in Gaza." The Kamtchàtka company, which won the Max Award for street performance with "Fugit ," also expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people.

The Catalan company Dagoll Dagom , which began 50 years ago and has now decided to close, received the Maximum Applause from the audience (a long-running show) for L'alegría que passa (The Joy That Passes). They also emphasized the need to "support musicals, especially those by creators from this country."

Another award-winning work was Natural Order of Things , also a dance piece—and another great testament to the impressive current status of this discipline in our country—which took home the Max Award for Best Choreography (Guy Nader and Maria Campos), Best Female Dance Performer (María Campo), and Best Male Dance Performer (Alfonso Aguilar). Neither dancer picked it up because they were on tour, although Aguilar sent a text in which he remembered the Mexican dancer Maximiliano Corrales , whose body was found badly beaten in the Culiacán River in March 2023, four days after his disappearance. This production premiered at the Grec Festival in Barcelona and last April was shown at the Conde-Duque in Madrid.

Catalan actors

Catalan actress Ágata Roca took home the Max Award for The Categorical Imperative , another one she has added to her bag for the role of the philosophy professor in this play, which premiered at the Lliure in Barcelona but will be shown at the Teatro de la Abadía in Madrid from October 30 to November 9, 2025. It addresses the precariousness of university life, housing, and loneliness, as announced in its poster. She expressed her gratitude in Spanish and also in Catalan, referring to her family and the theater. Also in Catalonia was the Best Actor award, which went to Enric Auquer for The Day of Watusi , based on the novel by Francesc Casavella and which premiered at the Lliure. In February 2025, it will be shown at the Teatros del Canal in Madrid. Regarding this production, Auquer remembered "all the people who were on the margins during the Transition."

Actress Petra Martínez collected the Honorary Max Award, which should also have been given to her partner Juan Margallo, who passed away last March. It was presented to her by her daughter Olga and was one of the most emotional moments of the gala, but even despite the situation, Martínez found humor: "I don't like awards, although I do believe in this one. But I would love for them to give us numbers like in bingo and for the numbers to be randomly drawn."

Here's a speech (without reading anything) to frame, due to its tone, with a lot of love, but without sentimentality : "Juan and I have had a lot of fun. The theater for us has been fun. The Tábano group, the Gallo Vallecano... it was all of that that made us live politics, art... When we went out with Tábano they banned us from everything. We did Castañuela 70 successfully and the censors came and that was the end. And we were lucky to go all over Europe where there was Spanish emigration, which was thousands of people who built Spain with the money they sent. And they had friends in Latin America and they took us there. The ban of Franco's regime was lucky for Tábano because it made us know what Franco's Spain was like since we were living in a cloud. We went on a wonderful strike 50 years ago and everyone was there, a strike that brought together all the actors, directors from all over Spain and it was something that dignified our profession a lot. We have been very happy, we have known to wonderful people... And she's died. She's died on me, but no one says anything to you, and she dies... And in that moment, you curse everything that's curseable. It's a pain to die, but it's worse to stay alive when someone so dear to you dies. Thank you so much to whoever gave me this award; it makes me so happy to see young people with that energy, and long live a free Palestine."

Petra Martínez, about her partner Juan Margallo: "It's a pain to die, but it's worse to stay alive when someone you love dies."

Despite the winners, there have been notable absences at this Max Awards. The most notable was 1936 , which had only two nominations (Juan Vinuesa as Franco and Best Authorship) and which went home completely empty-handed, despite being one of the most acclaimed plays of 2024/2025 (and which swept the recent Godot and Talía Awards); Vania x Vania , a play that also thrilled the public and which only had one nomination (Best Theatre Show), also came up empty-handed; El día del Watusi also aspired to more, but only collected one award (Enric Auquer)... Things from the Max Awards.

1. Best Theater Show • Casting Lear, from Pirate Ship, Andrea Jiménez and Teatro de La Abadía

2. Best Dance Show • Afanador, by the Spanish National Ballet

3. Best Musical or Opera Show • Farra, by Lucas Escobedo Company and the National Classical Theater Company - INAEM

4. Best Street Performance • Fugit, from Kamchatka

5. Best Show for Children, Youth or Family Audiences • A Christmas Carol (Encapsulating Dickens), by Societé Mouffette and COMA14

6. Best New Show • Contra Ana, from La Contraria

7. Best Playwriting • Itziar Pascual for Pepito, a life story for children and grandparents

8. Best New Author • Ester Guntín for Quiso Negro

9. Best Adaptation or Version of a Theatrical or Choreographic Work • Andrea Jiménez and Juan Mayorga for Casting Lear

10. Best Musical Composition for a Stage Show • Juan Cristóbal Saavedra, Enrique Bermúdez, Jonathan Bermúdez, Gabriel Georgio González and Roberto Vozmediano for Afanador

11. Best Choreography • Guy Nader and Maria Campos for Natural Order of Things

12. Best Production Work • LA FAM for Ambulant

13. Best Stage Direction • Marcos Morau for Afanador

14. Best Stage Design and Video Scene • Víctor Peralta for Thauma

15. Best Costume Design • Sílvia Delagneau for Afanador

16. Best Lighting Design • Bernat Jansà for Afanador

17. Best Actress • Ágata Roca for L'imperatiu categòric

18. Best Actor • Enric Auquer for The Day of the Watusi

19. Best Female Dance Performer • Maria Campos for Natural Order of Things

20. Best Male Dance Performer • Alfonso Aguilar for Natural Order of Things

21. Max Award public applause (SPECIAL PRIZE) • L'alegria que passing by Dagoll Dagom

22nd Max Amateur or Social Award • Ignacio Aranguren and Vicente Galbete

23rd Max Honorary Award • Juan Margallo and Petra Martínez