TUMBALAFUSTA

FETEN AWARD 2025 Best Object Theater Show

Premiered at Festival GREC (July 2024)

Performed at Teatre Lliure (January/February 2025)

Winning project of the BECA MANS 2023, promoted by Viu el Teatre

PRESENTATION

It is a show for family audiences that combines text theatre, object theatre and music. It revolves around fundamental themes such as friendship, imagination, childhood, play and the passing of time.

Wood is the main element of this proposal, in which two pairs of hands move pieces around the space and make landscapes, stories, games, questions, images, words… appear in an imaginary journey in which performers and spectators will share questions about how the world around us works, following the constant process of discovery that comes with growing up.

SYNOPSIS

A wooden box silently awaits its fate.

Two pairs of hands begin to move their pieces around the space. And landscapes are built as houses, a neighbourhood, a village, a town, a city…

And from the interplay between these four hands and this pair of heads everything is transformed.

Stories emerge from pieces of wood that are home.

From the neighbourhood arise sounds that are music.

And from the city we hear the voices of many boys and girls.

And we wonder what we are doing there.

And we discover how everything around us works.

And we learn.

Numbers, words, images.

And little by little we grow older.

And older.

And we ask ourselves more questions until, at last, we get to the origin of it all:

The tree of life.

REVIEWS

“I am absolutely a fan of well-thought-out family proposals, with sensitivity and aesthetics, that treat children as intelligent little people. This ‘Tumbalafusta’, by Xavier Bobes and La Ruta40 is wonderful”

Clara Narvión / Cultural journalist

“An exercise in sincerity and intimacy (even if fictitious) that connects with the child’s heart, regardless of the viewer’s age.”

Jordi Bordes / Cultural journalist EL PUNT-AVUI

“A delicate, intelligent, precious and precise family show. A praise to imagination, to childhood, to friendship and to the passing of time. Bravo.”

Josep Maria Miró / Playwright and director

“A hymn to imagination and friendship for all kinds of audiences that turns scraps of wood from a carpentry shop into living, poetic matter to tell stories and celebrate ourselves. And how difficult it is to go so deep in reflecting on the passing of time from such a simple place.”

Alberto Conejero / Playwright and director

“Delicate and imaginative. Happy to support projects that look at children as intelligent people.”

Gisela Juanet / Producer and Viu el Teatre CEO

ARTISTIC CAST

Creation and playwriting

Xavier Bobés, Pau Matas and La Ruta 40

Directors

Xavier Bobés and Pau Matas

Interpretation

Alberto Díaz and Sergi Torrecilla

Music

PauMatas

Construction of stage elements

Pep Aymerich

Lighting design

Conrado Parodi and Conchita Pons

Production manager

Maria G. Rovelló

Pedagogical counselling

Laura Tamayo

Technical manager and Technician on tour

Esther Porcel

Director’s assistant and stage manager

Alba Balboa

Production

La Ruta 40 and Festival Grec

Production support

Beca Mans (Viu el Teatre)

Teatre de Lloret