Teater De Papel /Paper Theater by Rauxa Cia

I saw a really great show last night at the International Puppet Theater Festival at La Puntual (see the review I did last week of Hugo and Ines). This is the last week of the festival, although Puntual looks to have a pretty full schedule for the next few months.

The show Teater de Papel /Paper Theater by Rauxa Cia (which translates to Rough Company from Catalan)  has four more performances today and tomorrow and I urge you to see it if you can.

It’s inventive, funny, clever, and wordless.  It’s a solo show by Xavi Sanchez (with lights and sound added in by his partner Analia Serenelli.)

Here’s their promo video for the show:

I love how inventive the character creation/architecture is in this show.  You can see from the video above, it’s not just paper, but there are balloons involved.

Some of the set and the characters of Teater De Papel are made right in front of the audience, and sometimes you can see the actor/puppeteer solving problems on the fly. (In fact, one of those solutions leads to the balloon head puppet!)

It also reminds you how a little bit of tape can go a long way, and how deceptively simple puppets can be to create and even animate.  A portable fan on low is enough to give paper puppets an animation.

I spoke after the show with Xavi and Analia, who said they don’t perform a lot in Catalonia, more touring their show to theatres and festivals internationally.

So see it while you can!