This past weekend, April 19, 20, and 21, Sa Xerxa de Teatre coordinated the 12th Festival de Teatre Infantil de Maó, organized by the Fundació del Teatre Principal de Maó in collaboration with the town’s council. This year, we dedicated our efforts to building a stimulating, fun, and varied program that included circus, music, puppet theatre, street theatre, and dance…
Just like our other activities, the Festival is aimed at family audiences with high-quality proposals from the Balearic Islands and Catalonia. The show Transhumància (from the company Xip i Xap) kicked off the festival with a performance on the morning of April 19 for the users of the Centre Carles Mir and in the afternoon for those at the Centre de Dia del Geriàtric de Maó. These social functions at the two centers reflect Sa Xerxa’s commitment to spreading theatre among all ages, as part of the “Teatre per a Tothom” project, made possible thanks to the collaboration with Fundació La Caixa.
Even so, the inaugural show at the Teatre Principal in the Menorcan capital was Camí a l’escola (from the company Campi qui pugui) on the afternoon of April 19. This theatre piece was chosen—encouraging reflection with a story about three sisters who face obstacles and dangers to reach school—because it was awarded the Premi a la Crítica d’Arts Escèniques de Catalunya and also the 2021 Premi a Millor Espectacle Familiar. However, not only the inaugural performance saw a large turnout, but all the shows at the Teatre Principal de Maó were a resounding success in terms of attendance.
During the weekend, attendees could also enjoy street theatre performances. For example, on the morning of Saturday, April 20, rats filled Maó with the parade RATS! (also from the company Campi qui pugui). Led by a flautist, these rats reinterpreted the traditional tale “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” with a fresh and fun twist, gathering about 1,000 spectators. The popular story played a prominent role throughout Saturday, as after the parade, Hamelí (by Xip i Xap) was performed at the Teatre Principal de Maó, a work that won the Premi Drac d’Or Fecoll a la 32a Fira de Titelles de Lleida and the Premi del Jurat Infantil a Tiritijai 2021.
After a morning dedicated to the rats, the program continued on the streets with Cacos, the second parade of the Maó Festival, about prisoners escaping from jail. These “cacos” came to make us laugh at our fears and make us aware of the value we place on material things. To end Saturday, the contemporary circus show Potser no hi ha final, from Circ Pistolet, was held at the Teatre Principal.
Sunday, April 21, was headlined by music and dance with Tararea (from Ibiza) and Alek i Sophie (from the Baal company). However, the theatrical week was not over, as school performances of Tararea were scheduled from Monday to Wednesday at the infant schools El Fort de l’Eau, IE Cap de Creus, IE Magdalena Humbert, IE Es Buscarets, IE Es Passarells, and IE Sant Climent.
The 12th edition of the Festival de Teatre Infantil de Maó, like every year, was a success, both in quality and in turnout. Therefore, we hope to continue the collaboration for much longer, and we are also working to expand the presence of children’s and youth theatre in Menorca. For this reason, this past weekend, we took the opportunity to meet with Nerea Nevado Muñoz, a councilor from the Es Mercadal Council, to plan something new soon, always with the aim of promoting the performing arts among the youngest.
