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Balcarce 998
+54 (11) 43622651
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"La Carbonera" was founded on the corner of Balcarce and Carlos Calvo by actors and architects Bob Barr and Carlos Nicastro, who remodeled this building to set up their own rehearsal area so they wouldn't have to depend on other places to rehearse. This building is an old restored colonial-style house that dates back to 1820, which in the late 19th century was a coal factory, thus its current name "La Carbonera," which in Spanish means "The Coal Factory." This theatre was inaugurated in late 1993 and it houses the "La Carbonera" Theatre Company and other experimental theatre groups. However, it also organizes comtemporary dance, dance theatre, muscial theatre and experimental music shows, as well as visual and sound art performances. One of its most important activities are its numerous musical theatre series developed by the "Centro de Experimentación en Ópera y Ballet" (Experimental Opera and Ballet Center) of the Colón Theatre organized between 1995 and 1996. The "La Carbonera" theatre company emphasizes the image and the body in its work. Words are used as support and never to express content. The main elements of its work are sound, image and color.
All the shows organized by this theatre are independent theatre shows, and for this reason "La Carbonera" has become a non-profit organization in which cultural values prevail over commercial objectives. Some of its shows have formed part of very important festivals, such as the VI International Festival in Buenos Aires or the X International Festival in Havana. Carlos Nicastro says: "It is one of the good things we have left. People who come from abroad say that Buenos Aires is one of the three main theatre capitals of the world. Every weekend there are 170 plays in independent theatres." And he is proud of promoting independent theatre: "It is completely different from commercial or official theatre. It is actually the most important, because it is where all the actors come from. It is the kind of artistic theatre that progresses, investigates and is invited to international festivals because of its prestige."
