Between the 11th and 14th of September 2008, Tàrrega will once again be transformed into the great showcase for the performing arts and a professional meeting point. We present a preview of this year-s programme in which you will find a bit of everything (dance, circus, puppets, clowns, musical theatre, etc.), but especially street shows, proposals thought up for public places understood with a wide renewing and plural view that allows us to see new tendencies and that provide new reference points for artistic creation.

(1) premiere (2) debut in Spain

INAUGURATION

POP3 (1) is the inaugural spectacle for FiraTàrrega and will be performed by the young Catalan company Efímer. A large format, very visual spectacle inspired in Pop-Art. Its ingredients are bright colours, pyrotechnics, video-projection, the movement of large structures and a powerful soundtrack.

IN THE STREET

Diversity of ways of understanding creation in public spaces. A plural and diverse look at the use of the street and open spaces. Catalonia One of the important premieres of the Fira 2008 is Floten tecles (1) a musical, cinematographic spectacle, loaded with poetry and humour, directed by Leandre Ribera. In this piece, David Moreno plays the piano, percussions, and the accordion and sings six metres up in a vertical position. Senza Tempo present their latest street creation, A+, Cosas que nunca te conté, a dance-theatre spectacle full of evocative images. Laitrum will install their particular Bloc in Tàrrega, a building where the neighbours try to get through the day to day life. A spectacular 6-metre high block of flats is the stage for this spectacle that combines clowns and puppets. In Barco de arena, Claire combines circus and dance and once again delights the audiences. On the other hand, that dancers of Factoria Mascaró will present their Jardí de les delícies (2), a choreography inspired in the romantic gardens that can be found in many European cities. Spain Gaitana by Teatro de la Saca is a large format piece that deals with the subject of gender violence. In Otsoko, Gaitzerdi present a contemporary reading for adults of the classic tale of Little Red Riding Hood. El Pintor y la Modelo is a work by Roberto Martínez Losa that combines fine arts with performance and dance, a dialogue between the creator and his creation. International The product of participation in the new European network Meridians, together with other festivals, the Fira is co-producing two spectacles; one, Alhambra Container (2), created by the French company Osmosis, and the other Menus Larcins (2) by the company Délit de Façade with the participation of the Catalan clown and stage director Leandre. You will also find national premieres with The Station (2) the latest production by the English company, Bashstreet Theatre, Bangditos from Germany with Überfluss (2), a large fountain that, at night, turns into a complex mechanism where light, music, fire and water interact, or the itinerant Un poco de Carmen (2) by the Belgians of La Guardia Flamenca. Three spectacles with very different characteristics are worth special mention. From Colombia, Chiminigagua offer their particular point of view about the Spanish colonisation of South America in Trilogía Muisca (2). From Italy, the girls of Le Vedove Allegre (2) try to overcome their grief on the streets of Tàrrega; and the English Dot Comedy (2) invite us into their labyrinth in The Maze (□), an installation full of crazy characters and situations.

SINGULAR

Daring and different proposals, that use singular places and approaches, that propose a new play on relations with the spectators and that renews the stage ritual. One of the great bets of this year’s programme: an Instal·lació de Foc by the French company Carabosse who will transform the landscape of the village of El Talladell a few kilometres from Tàrrega. There is also another proposal far from the town centre: Kurva (1), by La Reial Companyia de Teatre de Catalunya. This show is the result of a creative laboratory and is a critical reflection about prostitution on the roads. La Caravane Passe brings us Le Vrai-Faux Mariage (2), a delirious wedding, a great musical festival, with doses of cabaret circus; and Teatro en el Aire, specialists in creating sensorial universes, invite the spectators to stretch out in bed and enjoy their show, La Cama.

CLOSED VENUES

Catalonia 2 musicals presented by two very young companies. On one hand, Fràgil that talks about the vulnerability of human relations, by the company Nocturns and the other Rudigore o la nissaga maleïda, by Egos Teatre, the revelation on this year’s Barcelona theatre list. And in a very different register, the company La Banda presents Invisibles, a reflection on clowning, movement, humour and theatricality, working with various disciplines: gestual theatre, theatre of objects, music, dance and video. Spain The Andalusian company Varuma Teatro present Renglones Imaginarios, a spectacle that combines opera, theatre and circus based on a real anecdote from the life of Kafka. Teatro Che y Moche bring a stage adaptation of the film Metropolis, an ambitious multi-disciplinary spectacle mixing music, dance and theatre. To end up, in Accions/Reaccions, the company Au Ments invite the audience on an emotive and interactive journey, where the public become part of the stage, dance, fill, and become performers.

AND ALSO...

The young company Mumusic Circus brings Merci Bien, a contemporary circus spectacle for all ages, elegant and entertaining, fresh and funny. La industrial Teatrera presents Rojo (1), a clown show that is a new direction in their career and Los Excéntricos bring us their latest creation, Rococó Bananas, with their habitual surrealist and absurd humour. Two itinerant spectacles with two large artefacts as their stars: On one hand, Drago (1), the post-industrial dragon of La Baldufa and on the other, the spectacular vehicle of Els Mentiders (1) by the company El Sidral who recreate Leonardo da Vinci’s fantastic machines. A tragic, burlesque spectacle that combines trash and poetry, blood and feathers: Plume by the company La Chouing. A cruel tale that moves you and leaves nobody indifferent. And then there are the spectacles that you will find in the venues managed directly by the companies 23 ARTS, EDÚCATS and ACCÉS TEATRE.