Friday, March 29

Theater director Joan Ollé dies at 66

The theater director and playwright Joan Ollé has died at the age of 66 of a heart attack. Director of numerous stage productions throughout his career and professor for decades at the Institut del Teatro, Ollé was also awarded the National Television Award in 2005 for the program L’illa del tresoron TV3, together with Joan Barril, with whom he also collaborated on The Cafe of the Republic of Catalunya Radio.

At the end of his career, Ollé was removed from the Institut del Teatre due to complaints of harassment and abuse of power by numerous former students. A report from the newspaper Ara revealed abusive behavior, humiliation and comments of a sexual nature and harassment by several teachers at the center, including Ollé, who always denied the facts. The training institution transferred the file to the Prosecutor’s Office and it ended up filing it.

Ollé began in the theater as a director in the Dagoll Dagom company and consolidated with the direction of works such as Quan la ràdio parlava de Franco –by Josep Maria Benet i Jornet and Terenci Moix – or Antigone, by Salvador Espriu at the Mérida Classical Theater Festival. It also stands out As the years go by, by Federico García Lorca, at the Grec Festival in Barcelona.

The playwright was part of the artistic direction of the Teatre Lliure in 2003 and 2004 and for several years he also directed the acts of the National Day of Catalonia.



www.eldiario.es