Soul, the 24th Puppet Festival of Andorra will expand this year’s programming to 14 sessions and will program for the first time a proposal from the national scene. The festival will be held from1 to 14 November and will extend the activities over three weekends, with school sessions during the week.
The councilor of culture, childhood i youth, Joan Sansexplained that this year’s edition will combine traditional puppet techniques with more contemporary and innovative proposals. In this sense, he emphasized that the festival “grows in institutional alliances”, with the incorporation of the Ministry of Educationin addition to the participation of Andorra Tourism and the Spanish and French embassies.
One of the novelties will be the extension of school sessions, which will allow all schoolchildren in the country to attend ‘Nuru’s journey‘, of Pistachio Theater. According to Sans, this addition will bring the festival to “14 sessions” this year, in a schedule that will last for two weeks.
The program also includes a show at Party Room of Pas de la Casa. Sans has pointed out that with this performance they want to “recover the territoriality” of the festival. As for theNational Scenethe festival will program for the first time a production linked to contemporary puppetry and the physical theater and objects. The proposal, entitled ‘Everything to do’, raises a reflection on the stories that are decided to be preserved and those that are left behind.
The program will begin on November 1 with ‘Solitudes’, a proposal that has been recognized with several awards, including the Max Award for the best theatrical show and the best musical composer, as well as the Ercilla Award for the best Basque production. November 3 will be the turn of Peanut Theaterwhich will bring a children’s proposal to the Pas de la Casa. The program will also include ‘Saeta’, by Javier Arandaas well as ‘The Coconut Grove‘, contributed byEmbassy of Spain. The French program will include a proposal of Renaud Herbin which combines puppetry, dance and visual arts.
Finally, November 14 will arrive’A Christmas Carol: Encapsulating Dickens‘, a proposed theater of objects and puppets that will also include a workshop. The director of product i events ofAndorra Tourism, Enrique Torreshas emphasized that the festival has become a cultural event and has remarked that this year “it is extended by another week”. Torres also pointed out that the event allows reaching the family audience during the month of November.
For his part, the ambassador of Spain, Carles Pérez-Desoyhas highlighted the festival’s ability to “reinvent itself” while maintaining the essence of the first editions. The diplomat has also defended the validity of puppets in a context marked by digitalisation. The ambassador of France, Nicolas Eybalin, has also highlighted the evolution of the event and the incorporation of contemporary proposals. The French proposal of this edition combines work with puppets with dance and visual arts.
Sans has finally remarked on the diversity of the programming, with shows aimed at different age groups and proposals that use the language of puppets to also address contemporary issues.
