Teatro Vico Jumilla
The Jumilla theatre offers a full range of musical and theatrical entertainment
Address: Calle Cánovas del Castillo, nº 74, 30520 Jumilla
T: 968 781166
E: teatrovico@jumilla.org
Click for map, Calle Cánovas del Castillo, Jumilla
The Teatro Vico in Jumilla is located on the central street of Cánovas de Castillo, not much more than 100 yards from the Town Hall. The theatre offers the people of Jumilla and the rest of the region a variety of entertainments, including not only drama but also music, dance, musicals and many other kinds of performance.
Its eclectic two-colour façade is reminiscent of the the Teatro Romea in the centre of Murcia, and inside the elaborately painted ceiling presides over a total seating capacity of 521.
Tickets and box office
Tickets can be bought directly from the Teatro VIco box office, which is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 18.00 to 20.00, and two hours before the curtain rises on performance days. When performances are on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays the box office opens only for the two hours before the show.
During the same box office timetable phone bookings can be made on 968 781166, but customers should be aware that any reserved tickets which have not been collected two days before the performance will be placed back on sale.
History
The theatre in Jumilla was built on a plot of land formerly occupied by the Convento de las Llagas de San Francisco, which dated from 1601. Following the Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizábal in 1835 the convent was expropriated, sacked and burnt, and a year later it became a hospital and barracks.
In around 1867 a society formed by friends of the theatre and local businessmen proposed the idea of using the convent’s hall as a theatre, and the architect Juan José Belmonte produced plans for its construction, but only the foundations were laid. The project didn’t come back to life until 1881, this time with Town Hall backing, and new plans were drawn up by Justo Millán Espinosa, who was also responsible for the bull-ring and the Teatro Romea in Murcia, the theatre of Yecla, the Teatro Circo-Villar in Cartagena, part of the casino of Murcia and the churches in the spa area of Fortuna and San Bartolomé in the centre of Murcia.
The theatre was officially opened in 1883, and seven years later the name of Vico was added to it in honour of the great actor Antonio Vico, who was also a great friend of the writers, poets and actors belonging to the “Generation of 98”, especially the Machado family.
Approximately a hundred years of theatrical, artistic and cinematographic activity later, in 1987, the building was restored under the supervision of architect Juan Antonio Molina, and officially re-opened in 1991 by Queen Sofía.
Click for full information about the Jumilla municipality including the Jumilla Wine Route and what to visit.
