String it out

A feeling of being controlled by a force greater than us has haunted humans forever. Strange, then, that so many people throughout the ages have got such pleasure and entertainment from the sight of a puppet-master expertly manipulating his creations. Or perhaps we are comforted by the thought that we might have our own puppet-master moving the strings for us…

Whatever the psychology behind it, the history of puppetry is centuries old, and all areas of the world have their puppet traditions, encompassing tragedy and comedy, romance and satire. Catalunya is no exception and this month sees the inauguration of a new festival of puppet-theatre in Barcelona: TOT, standing for Teatre, Objectes, Titelles (Theate, Objects, Puppets). In fact, the festival’s venue, Poble Espanyol, has hosted a one-day gathering of puppet companies for over 10 years. TOT, however, expands the event to become a week-long puppet extravaganza, to coincide (more or less) with World Puppet Day on March 21st. The companies performing will largely be Catalan, with a special appearance from the Italian company Walter Broggini, bringing its itinerant show Solo here for the first time. There will be both sit-down indoor performances as well as open-air shows, and some of the most promising-sounding features include a rendition of Alice in Wonderland with an Alice measuring over four metres, as well as Roda, Roda…Rodoreda that relates some of the most important writings by Catalan author Mercè Rodoreda, as performed by insects made out of coloured wool.

TOT Festival: Poble Espanyol; March 21st to 28th, 2010; €12 for adults, €8 for children