Teatre Arniches invites the city to a bright, festive weekend filled with puppets and theater for every age. From December 6 to December 10, audiences will encounter daily performances at 6, 9, and 10 in the evening, a schedule designed to fit families, friends, and curious visitors alike. The theater, supported by cultural initiatives from the Generalitat Valenciana, has long been a stage where new voices and classic stories mingle with the energy of live performance. The program features a blend of original pieces created by respected figures in contemporary drama, including Xavier Bobés and Alberto Conejero, whose collaboration shapes a night where messages from schoolchildren meet the stage through the lens of professional dramaturgy. This artistic endeavor will be presented with the involvement of teachers and students from Bañuelos de Burueba, and collaboration from Antoni Benaigues, Marina Garcés, and Conejero himself. The production details indicate a performance on Saturday, December 9, at 20:30, a highlight for the weekend.
On stage, Xavier Bobés and Sergi Torrecilla recount a deeply human story centered on a promise made by a teacher to his students that could not be fulfilled. The narrative brings to life the figure of Antoni Benaiges, a teacher who left a lasting imprint on the rural community of Bañuelos de Burueba in Burgos. In a winter of 1936, he promised his pupils the sea, a dream he vowed to realize by taking them to Catalonia that very summer. The tale unfolds around the promise and its implications for a generation facing upheaval, while the audience witnesses how that vow resonates across time. The memory of that moment—how a boy or girl pictured the sea through the teacher’s eyes—emerges as a powerful meditation on hope in difficult historical moments.
Dating back to 1934, a young Catalan teacher enters the quiet rural school of Bañuelos de Burueba. Shortly after, he uses his own resources to finance a printing press and a gramophone, with the aim of giving his students a window to the world. He pledges to bring them to the sea that very summer, a scene imagined by the children as they record their thoughts in a notebook titled Sea. The notebook captures how schoolchildren, imagining the ocean, voice their fears and dreams in poetry rather than prose. The work draws on authentic testimonies and a collective memory, inviting audiences to reflect on the power of education, imagination, and resilience in times of social change.
Festititeres returns to Arniches
Arniches Theater once again becomes the venue for the Festitíres Festival, presenting two distinct events. On Wednesday, December 6, at 6:00 pm, Inch. La Calderona and MC Productions present Illusion, a puppet and object theater piece that explores the power of imagination and the ability to feel deeply moved. Then, on Sunday, December 10, at 6:00 pm, another program will bring a performance that relates to Antonella d’Ascenzi, offering a complementary experience that rounds out the weekend in a dynamic, family-friendly manner. This anniversary of the festival underscores the theater’s commitment to presenting innovative works that connect audiences through storytelling, visuals, and live performance. The schedule promises a blend of whimsy, artistry, and thoughtful reflection, inviting spectators to discover how imagination can illuminate everyday life and historical memory.