The best of off-theatre in Buenos Aires

When an independent play runs for 10 seasons, it’s undoubtedly a classic. Set in a hotel in a small town in Argentina’s littoral region, it believes in miracles; its protagonists are people who wait. They wait for everything: a change of life, a love relationship, a better future. And all believe in the miracles of “La Pilarcita,” a popular saint to whom one must offer a small specially made doll for the miracle to come true.

It is one of those delightful plays, with a profound and empathetic text, in which the audience is taken by hand through various emotions: from laughter to nostalgia, from nostalgia to sadness… and back to joy. María Marull’s writing and direction immerse you for a little over an hour in the rhythm and pulse of a hot town afternoon, with its melodies, characters, and beliefs.

Where: El Camarín de las Musas. Tickets, here.

With Leonor Manso, Eugenia Guerty, and Carolina Tejeda. Directed by Santiago Loza and Pablo Messiez.

A touching and heartfelt play by Manuel Puig that addresses fundamental themes such as love and the passage of time. Two sisters, Nidia and Luci, pass their hours through gossip about their neighbor Silvia’s loves as if they were stories that enrich life. To laugh, dream, and understand that it’s never too late to chase your own desires.

Where: Hasta Trilce. Tickets, here.

With Patricio Aramburu, Diego Velazquez. Directed by Mariano Pensotti.

The story intertwines two lives: Julián Vidal, a mountaineer determined to complete the climb that killed his father in 1989, and Manuel Rojas, an actor called years later to portray him in a film. On stage, they coexist as mirror and reflection, reality and fiction, father and son, memory and myth. An intense play that explores inheritance, absence, and the way time melts both glaciers and family illusions.

Where: Dumont 4040. Tickets, here.

A "dream team" of theatre in a play written by Santiago Loza, starring Mariano Saborido and directed by Juanse Rauch and Valeria Lois. Mario runs a hostel with his mother in a remote southern village. Beyond lies a port that ceased functioning with travelers, sailors, and passersby. There is a return, a farewell, and Mario’s desire to flee forever among the icy sea, burning sensations, chants, and lots of wind.

Where: Dumont4040. Tickets, here.

Directed by Carlos Belloso. Cast: Carlos Belloso, Alejandra Oteiza, Beto Bernuez, Pepe Arias, and Eduardo Marcos.

With Carlos Belloso leading the cast, this comedy follows the story of Pedro, a baker and union leader who, during the Peronist government, is chosen to represent the working class at the Argentine Embassy in the Soviet Union, where he discovers the contradictions and entanglements of the Stalinist regime.

Where: Fridays at Palacio El Victorial, Saturdays at Teatro El Vitral. Tickets here.

With Roxana Randón, Adabel Guerrero, Manuel Novoa, and Gonzalo Villanueva. Directed by Alejandro Magnone.

A powerful and emotional drama that deeply questions the most sacred bonds: family. Through a seemingly simple situation—a family visit—a web of secrets, mandates, silences, and fractures unfolds, bursting what’s left unspoken. What happens when what comes from outside not only unsettles but transforms forever?

Where: Teatro El Tinglado. Tickets, here.

With Flor Bobadilla Oliva, La Ferni. Directed by Hernán Márquez.

The stage adaptation of Gabriela Cabezón Cámara’s acclaimed novel takes us back to the early days of Argentina’s nation-building to tell the story of a woman’s transformative journey in search of a possible paradise. China Iron hops aboard the wagon of an Englishwoman heading to the frontier in search of her husband. China, however, only wants to escape —to leave behind the memory of Martín Fierro and her life as a “china.” Soon, the journey becomes a path of discovery, freedom, and love, all under the watchful eye of a shotgun.

Where: Dumont4040. Tickets, here.

With Dennis Smith. Directed by Dennis Smith.

A man, alone on stage, becomes both son and witness as he listens for the first time to the story his mother kept secret for decades. The year is 1975: at just 24 years old, a militant in the Montoneros movement, she goes underground with a baby in her arms after her partner’s death. Hunted and captured, she survives because a soldier chooses her as his mistress. To some, she was a traitor; to her son, she’s always been a mystery. Now, half a century later and thousands of miles away, those long-silenced words open a wound, a mystery —and the possibility of a shared truth.

Where: Dumont4040. Tickets, here.

With Mercedes Moltedo. Directed by Mercedes Moltedo.

A solo performance that dives into the hallways of a high school to portray the rush of first love, unconditional friendship, and the contradictions of adolescence. Sandra, a third-year student, feels her life is utterly dull until Alejo Luciani —a newly arrived student repeating the year— turns everything upside down.

Together with Rocío, her inseparable best friend, she embarks on an adventure of impossible crushes, school humiliations, and spring dances. With humor, tenderness, and a critical eye, the play revisits the discoveries of adolescence through the voice of a young woman trying to balance grades, passions, and dreams in a world that seems to be constantly shifting.

Where: Nun Teatro Bar. Tickets, here.

With Mosquito Sancineto and Eduardo Calvo. Directed by Pablo Calvo.

On an island in the Río de la Plata transformed into a fake North American paradise, a jurist and a self-proclaimed Roman emperor endure a forced exile while debating power, religion, morality, and the fate of a continent that once bent to their whims. Blending absurdity, humor, and dystopian local color, the play fuses Albert Camus’ existentialism with popular Argentine culture to deliver a biting satire on politics, memory, and the fragility of privilege.

Where: Centro Cultural de la Cooperación. Tickets, here.

With Graciela Stefani, Miriam Odorico, and Dalma Maradona. Directed by Julieta Cayetina.

Berta and Luisa are two widows who, between gossip, funerals, and endless card games, navigate grief while inheriting a rundown roadside motel. The arrival of Cecilia —a young pregnant woman determined to do whatever it takes to give birth— shakes up their routine and forces them to face their own prejudices. Through unexpected decisions, humor, and tenderness, this encounter becomes the spark that drives them to rediscover desire, sexuality, and above all, the urge to live life to the fullest.

Where: Timbre 4. Tickets, here.

From Catalan playwright Víctor Borràs Gasch comes a play that, with sharp humor, digs into the cracks of friendship and the secrets time fails to bury. Three friends who haven’t seen each other in over twenty years reunite during a torrential night in their hometown. Facundo calls Pablo and Javi together for a reason he won’t reveal —only insisting it’s important. Outside, the rain falls with unusual force; inside, the reunion threatens to unearth a dark secret they believed buried forever.

Where: Moscú Teatro. Tickets, here.

With: Santiago Gobernori, Federico León, Beatriz Rjland. Directed by: Federico León.

A group of workshop participants undergo extreme rules, rituals, and tests in search of a radical form of creation. Discipline turns into penance, exercises into brutal challenges, and the process into a living laboratory where anything can happen. Inspired by León’s own workshops, the play puts him on stage to experience his own method firsthand. The result: an unpredictable, fierce, and fascinating show where theater becomes an essay on the limits between teaching, play, and sacrifice.

Where: Zelaya 3134. Tickets, here.

With: Lucas Delgado, Manuela Fernandez Vivian, Damián Smajo. Directed by: Martín Mir.

December 2001. As Argentina erupts in its most severe social and political crisis, an upper-class couple seeks escape from chaos. But a car accident forces them to spend the night in a rented room. What seems like a pause becomes a battlefield: she, a renowned actress; he, a meat entrepreneur; and Nelson, the room’s owner, confront secrets and tensions mirroring the turmoil outside. Between insomnia, confessions, and an oppressive atmosphere, the play captures a nation — and a couple — on the brink of collapse.

Where: Teatro Vera Vera. Tickets, here.

With: Carlo Argento, Herve Segata, Franco Riedel, Luna Sciutti. Directed by: Pablo D’Elía.

Trapped in an elevator, Martín and Hermes embody a clash of worlds: one flees from love’s intensity, the other tries to capture it in words. Fate forces them to confront fear, desire, and the inevitability of loss. A poetic, intimate play where a confined space becomes a metaphor for emotional vertigo.

Where: El Método Kairós. Tickets, here.