Neither the pandemic nor exams prevented the theatre group from premiering its work Arsenic and Old Lace on Wednesday, 27 April. As part of Cultural Abril, the students, directed by lecturer Xavier Mercadé, performed the Broadway classic of American playwright Joseph Kesselring, a comedy about family secrets, entertaining mix-ups, poisoned tea and, of course, crime. “We were worried because we are all very busy and we worked until the last minute, doing the general rehearsal only the day before. But in the end the premiere always seems to go better than rehearsals and we have really enjoyed the experience,” says Mireia Pagès, audiovisual communications student and one of the stars of the play.

Despite various unforeseen events, the performance was a great success and the audience enjoyed the 50-minute performance. “We found it very funny and the fact that the actors weren’t professionals made it great,” commented Aina Calopa, student of Audiovisual Communications. “You could tell that there was a lot of work behind it and they really entertained us,” said Alba Brown from Advertising and Public Relations.

The theatre group is one of the cultural groups provided by UIC Barcelona as a cultural training activity and a tool for development. “Culture is very important in a university, and theatre is a wonderful expression of this. I would be surprised to find a university without theatre, because what lies behind a work like this is love for literature and the more abstract things in life such as art and cultivation of the spirit. All this enriches the university. Throughout the preparation process we have grown as individuals and also as professionals. Although many of the students do not end up dedicating themselves to the theatre, it gives them many tools to use in their professional lives”, concluded Xavier Mercadé, drama lecturer at UIC Barcelona and director of the play.

After the great success of the performance, students are expected to perform Arsenic and Old Lace again in the summer.