A working theatre, not a historic ruin
Teatro Municipal Juan Prado
Named after a local painter, freshly renovated, and running a real annual season: the one landmark on this page you can actually buy a ticket to.
Named after the town's own painter
The theatre opened on 25 April 1987 as the "Teatro Municipal de Valdemoro." It was renamed "Juan Prado" in October 2003, in tribute to the painter Juan Prado (1936–2003), who lived and worked in the town for most of his life, opening his own studio there in 1965. His naturalist landscapes, portraits, and still lifes (many depicting Valdemoro's own streets, buildings, and people) earned him this honour; the Ayuntamiento's own collection still holds around 20 of his paintings. Before turning to fine art full-time, Prado also worked as a cinema poster illustrator, a detail easy to confuse with the theatre itself having once been a cinema, but it wasn't; it was purpose-built as a municipal theatre from the start.
A real, recent renovation, not a faded venue
The theatre underwent a substantial renovation completed in 2026, funded through the Comunidad de Madrid's PIR 2022–2026 regional investment program: 300 square metres of new flooring replacing flooring more than two decades old, 460 new three-tone blue seats replacing the old red ones, and 32 previously unusable boxes reactivated, a total cost of €179,500 split between the region (€170,525) and the town (€8,975). That followed an earlier round of upgrades from 2024 onward, worth roughly €88,000, covering a lighting overhaul, a new stage curtain and textiles, an accessibility platform, and refrigeration.
What's actually on
This is a genuinely active venue, not a landmark kept open for appearances: it runs a season of comedy, contemporary and classical theatre, dance, music, magic, and zarzuela, and it's a member venue of the Comunidad de Madrid's official Red de Teatros. It also hosts the town's own Festival de Teatro de Valdemoro every May (an amateur theatre festival with a long-running reputation as one of the oldest of its kind in the region), plus film screenings and exhibitions through the attached Centro Cultural Juan Prado.
Programming and ticketing change season to season, so check the current schedule directly before planning a visit around a specific show rather than relying on any single year's listing, including this one.
A working municipal proscenium stage, not a grand theatre
Technical listings for the venue describe a modest, functional proscenium stage (roughly 1.37 metres of proscenium opening, with a stage around 1.76 metres wide and deep in the published specs), consistent with a civic building designed for a working local season rather than a showcase touring house. It shares its building with the Centro Cultural Juan Prado, meaning the same complex houses the theatre, a library, and exhibition space under one roof, a genuinely multi-purpose civic building, not a single-use auditorium.
Find it on the map
Official page & current programme (Ayuntamiento de Valdemoro)Common questions
Who was Juan Prado, the person the theatre is named after?
Juan Prado (1936–2003) was a painter who lived and worked in Valdemoro for most of his life, opening his own studio there in 1965 and painting the town's own streets, buildings, and people. The theatre was renamed in his honour in October 2003. It was not named after a politician.
Is the Teatro Municipal Juan Prado still an active venue?
Yes: it hosts a regular season of comedy, theatre, dance, music, and zarzuela, plus the town's own long-running amateur Festival de Teatro de Valdemoro every May, and is a member venue of the Comunidad de Madrid's official Red de Teatros. It underwent a substantial renovation completed in 2026.
How many seats does the theatre have?
Currently 460, following the 2026 renovation that installed new seating and reactivated 32 previously unusable boxes. Older sources cite 420 seats: the capacity from before that refit.