JOSEP M. BENET I JORNET
JOSEP M. BENET I JORNET (Barcelona 1940 – Lleida 2020). Born in postwar Spain, the sordid and repressive atmosphere of the time marked his childhood and haunted him through his life. However, he was lucky to become a playwright despite thinking that he would never see one of his plays on stage.
His vocation came out by reading children cartoons that built a narrative through drawings and dialogues.
He studied Humanities at the Universitat de Barcelona. His learning derived both from popular readings and radio serials as well as his university studies in the 70s and the Drama School Adrià Gual.
In 1963 he won the Josep M. de Sagarra prize with Una vella, coneguda olor and, from then on, he didn’t stop writing until being diagnosed with Alzheimer in 2014.
He was the author of about fifty plays, most of them premiered and award-winning, the last being the Honor Award of Catalan Letters in 2013, although he was also awarded important prizes such as the National Award for Playwriting (1995) or the Creu de Sant Jordi in 1997 (one of the highest civil distinctions given in Catalonia), the prize of the Institute of Catalan Letters in 1998 and the Max of Honor in 2010.
His best-known titles are: Revolta de bruixes, Desig, Fugaç, L’habitació del nen, Dues dones que ballen and Soterrani.
Likewise, even though the stage was the love of his live, he frequently combined this passion with television and even today he is remembered for being the author of the TV script of Poble Nou, Nissaga de Poder, Laberint d’Ombres and Amar en tiempos revueltos.
Josep M. Benet i Jornet devoted his entire life to writing, triggered by his desire to contribute to the development of playwriting in Catalan.
CATALOGUE:
TITLE | GENRE | MALE CHARACTERS | FEMALE CHARACTERS |
Una vella, coneguda, olor | Drama | 3 | 6 |
Fantasia per a un auxiliar administratiu | Comedy drama | 2 | 4 |
Cançons perdudes | Drama | 12 | 6 |
Marc i Jofre | Epic | 15 | 5 |
La nau | Science-fiction | 4 | 2 |
L’ocell fénix a Catalunya o Alguns papers de l’auca | Comedy | 2 | 3 |
Taller de fantasia (La nit de les joguines) | Children’s play | 27 | 14 |
Berenàveu a les fosques | Drama | 3 | 4 |
Tedi de febrer | Black comedy | 1 | 3 |
La desaparició de Wendy | Comedy drama | 8 | 7 |
Supertot | Musical comedy | 12 | 2 |
A la clínica (Apunt sobre la bellesa del temps -1) | Drama | 1 | 1 |
Revolta de bruixes | Drama | 1 | 6 |
Helena a l’illa del baró Zodiac | Children’s play | 7 | 1 |
El somni de Bagdad | Adventures | 7 | 2 |
Dins la catedral (Josafat) | Drama | 5 | 2 |
Rosa o el primer teatre | Comedy drama | 4 | 2 |
El bosquecillo de hadas (Apunte sobre la belleza del tiempo – 2) | Psychothriller | 2 |
|
Descripció d’un paisatge | Tragedy | 4 | 4 |
Quan la ràdio parlava de Franco | Drama | 4 | 3 |
Elisabet i Maria | Historical drama | 9 | 4 |
Baralla entre olors | Drama | 2 | 2 |
El tresor del pirata negre | Adventures | 15 | 3 |
El manuscrit d’Alí Bei | Drama | 11 | 2 |
Història del virtuós cavaller Tirant lo Blanc | Drama | 22 | 5 |
Ai, carai! | Comedy | 4 | 1 |
Desire | Drama | 2 | 2 |
Dos camerinos (Apunt sobre la bellesa del temps – 3) | Short play | 1 | 1 |
(Carlota i la dona de neu) La història de Carlota quan se’n va anar a salvar el seu amic de les mans de la dona de neu | Children’s play | 10 | 5 |
Fleeting | Drama | 3 | 4 |
Stages | Drama |
| 4 |
Alopècia | Comedy | 1 |
|
Legacy | Drama | 3 |
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El gos del tinent | Drama | 2 | 2 |
Confesión | Monologue | 1 |
|
Precisament avui | Drama | 2 | 1 |
Olores | Drama | 2 | 3 |
Petit regal a un pare (Apunt sobre la bellesa del temps – 4] | Drama | 2 | 1 |
Eso a un hijo no se le hace | Black comedy | 3 | 3 |
La habitación del niño. (Las trece de la noche) | Drama | 2 | 1 |
Toallas de playa (Apunte sobre la belleza del tiempo – 5) | Short play | 2 | 1 |
Pena per un gat | Monologue | 1 |
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Ben descansada [Unpublished] |
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Salamander | Drama | 3 | 2 |
La Ventafocs (Potser sí, potser no) |
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Sótano | Horror | 2 |
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Matisos |
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La plaça del diamant |
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Angúnia (Apunts sobre la belleza del temps– 6) [Unpublished] | Love triangle | 2 | 1 |
Two Women Dancing | Drama |
| 2 |
Com dir-ho | Drama | 1 | 1 |
Escarabats |
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Encontro imaginari (Àngel Guimerà / Margarida Xirgu / Frederic Soler “Pitarra”) |
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El retorn de Supertot [Unpublished] |
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