Irina Arenas: A Spanish Solo Artist Redefining Queer Theater, Micro-Musicals, and Political Performance on Both Sides of the Atlantic

In the increasingly global landscape of contemporary theatre, few voices emerge with the clarity, conviction, and artistic authority of Irina Arenas, the Madrid-born creator, writer, director, and performer whose work has rapidly positioned her as one of Spain’s most distinctive solo artists. At 36, Arenas arrives in the United States with her first O-1 artist visa, backed by multiple job offers and sponsorship from the respected Edu Díaz Productions, marking a pivotal new chapter in a career already defined by risk, originality, and professional accomplishment.

Arenas is not an emerging hopeful — she is a fully formed professional artist, a main performer and lead creator, who has been shaping Spanish theatre since she was fifteen. From the studios of Cuarta Pared to Madrid’s most important conservatories for musical theatre, her foundation is rigorous and classical, yet unmistakably contemporary in execution.

A Career Built on Creation, Craft, and Artistic Independence

Unlike many performers whose paths begin with casting calls, Arenas is an artist who has built her own opportunities. She writes, directs, and performs her own shows, developing a reputation in Madrid for work that is bold, socially incisive, and theatrically inventive.

Her range extends across textual theatre, contemporary musical theatre, micro-musicals, and political performance, always with a signature throughline: a commitment to feminist storytelling, LGBTQIA+ narratives, and theatrical innovation.

One of her earliest and most notable appearances was in the acclaimed Madrid production of The Vagina Monologues, staged in the prestigious theatre district of Gran Vía — widely considered “Madrid’s Broadway.” Performing in this high-visibility context established her as a formidable presence on major stages.

A Pioneer of Spain’s Micro-Musical Movement — And Award-Winning Creator

Arenas has played a central role in the growth of Spain’s micro-musical scene, directing and producing numerous works within this boundary-breaking format. Her productions have earned important awards, including a marquee win in March 2024 for her celebrated creation La Mejor Bollera, a queer musical blending wordplay, satire, and social commentary.

The piece — a paradoxical, irreverent story that links pastries, lesbian identity, and a pyramid-scheme parody — follows a young woman who enters a fraudulent enterprise to avoid confronting her sexuality. Vibrant, comedic, and emotionally sharp, the work underscores Arenas’s exceptional ability to merge genre, parody, and LGBTQIA+ themes into accessible and impactful theatre.

This November, the award-winning production returns to the independent Zaragoza venue Teatro El Bicho, further cementing the musical’s cultural traction.

New Work, New Company, and a Vision for the Future

Arenas continues to expand her creative footprint with Departamento de Personalidad Universal, written by her artistic partner Catalina Morán. The piece — a satire set within an “astrological HR department” — premieres on November 29 in Zaragoza as part of a major micro-theatre marathon.

Arenas and Morán are formalizing their theatre company B de B in December, with plans to develop a larger-scale production for submission to one of Madrid’s most important festivals. The new work addresses gender violence and childhood abuse, approached through theatrical parody — a method that allows Arenas to explore devastating topics with emotional accessibility, ensuring audiences are moved without being shattered.

The piece is slated for presentation at the prestigious Festival de Almagro in July 2026, marking a significant milestone in her professional trajectory.

A Longstanding Commitment to LGBTQIA+ Theatre

Across her body of work, Arenas consistently centers LGBTQIA+ narratives, particularly through her association with La Opción Producciones, a major Madrid-based company known for its queer-affirming programming. With them, she developed concerts dramatizados and the celebrated musical:

“¿Los musicales me hicieron gay? Sí.”

A comedic and heartfelt exploration of how musical theatre has reinforced, inspired, and accompanied gay audiences for generations.

For Arenas, this work is more than artistic — it is deeply personal:

“Since I was little, I wanted to be an artist. I have a political commitment to art. I believe absolutely that storytelling can make the world better. I create the pieces I wish my younger self could have seen — queer stories without stigma, women empowered on stage. That is the heart of my work.”

An Artist Prepared for the American Stage

Arenas’s U.S. sponsorship comes from Edu Díaz Productions, led by Canary Islands–born producer Edu Díaz, who has known Arenas since her early Madrid years. Díaz’s productions — especially the acclaimed A Drag Is Born, steeped in Canary folklore — resonate with Arenas’s own visceral creative style.

Her Spanish and Canary-influenced aesthetic, she says, is something she intends to bring to American theatre:

“There is a force, a visceral honesty in Hispanic performance — a willingness to put your guts on the table. That’s the energy I carry. That’s what I want to bring to U.S. stages.”

Díaz sees Arenas not only as a performer but as a writer whose voice is essential to his future projects — a testament to her professional stature and multidisciplinary talent.

A Promising and Imminent Force in American Theatre

With a career already spanning decades, multiple award-winning productions, and a body of original work that blends activism, artistry, and humor, Irina Arenas arrives in the U.S. not as a student, but as a fully developed professional artist.

She is a solo creator, a lead performer, a main-stage storyteller, and an exciting international voice positioned to make a significant impact on American theatre.

Irina Arenas represents a rare combination:
a seasoned artist, a fearless writer, and a culturally essential performer whose work speaks to the urgent social dialogues of our time.

Her arrival in the United States marks not a beginning, but an expansion — the next chapter of a career already defined by vision, courage, and creative excellence.