Titelles Sebastià Vergés, puppets with a history

More than 100 years have gone by since Sebastià Vergés founded his puppet company (titelles in Catalan). He started out at the age of 10 as an apprentice to Jaume Anglès i Vilaplana (of the puppeteering dynasty with the longest history) and was influenced by famous puppeteers of the day, who helped him consolidate his technique and his knowledge of the secrets of the trade.

Three generations on, his grandson Sebastià Vergés i Martínez carries on today with the same enthusiasm as his grandfather. He has revived old plays and created new productions, as well as bringing a few innovations to his puppets, which can now move their eyes and mouth, worked with just one hand. Together with Montserrat Albalate he keeps the company alive, and they have created new shows such as L’aniversari de la senyora Antònia, L’invent del professor Ximplet or La Laia i l’avi Vicenç.

At the Casa dels Entremesos we can see them perform at least once a month, doing their most classic children’s repertoire with old characters who never grow old, such as Cu-cut or the devil Banyeta.

In the same building, in the small Sala Oval, there’s an exhibition lent by the family: a little puppet theatre from 1939 and some 20 puppets that trace the history of the traditional Catalan puppet.

The Catalan titella is a puppet with its own technique: unlike the international glove puppet, the arms are worked with the thumb and little finger, and the head and shoulders with the three middle fingers.

This exhibition is a little gem. Even so, we feel that Barcelona’s long puppetry tradition, and the ups, downs and changes it has gone through over the years, deserve a proper space devoted to the story of the titella català.

A little more about Titelles Sebastià Vergés

A short TV3 report, ‘100 anys de titella català amb Titelles Vergés’ (100 years of Catalan puppetry with Titelles Vergés)

Show listings.

You can also book them to come to a party, a First Communion or whatever you like.