Mar ~ Marionetas | Espinho International Puppet Festival

Mar~Marionetas - Festival Internacional de Marionetas de Espinho 2026

Story of a Cat and a Mouse Who Became Friends [ SHOW ]

• Teatro e Marionetas de Mandrágora
• M/3 . 40mins . free access


• based on the text by Luís Sepúlveda and illustrations by Paulo Galindro

Story of a Cat and a Mouse Who Became Friends

Max, the human, and Mix, the cat, have been friends since childhood, and when Max decides to leave his parents’ home and move to a big city, he takes his faithful friend along. But Max is busy with school, and Mix, who is getting older and losing his sight, feels increasingly lonely.

One day, Mix hears soft little footsteps on the floor and discovers a thief eating Max’s crunchy cereal. Cleverly, Mix stays still, and suddenly, with the speed of his younger days, he stretches out his paw and catches a tiny little mouse. The mouse, whom he names Mix, is a timid and talkative little creature.

But true friends support one another, and together they learn to share the best they have inside.

Teatro e Marionetas de Mandrágora

Teatro e Marionetas de Mandrágora is a professional puppet theater company with artistic direction by Clara Ribeiro and Filipa Mesquita and art direction by enVide neFelibata. The company was founded on April 2, 2002. In the symbiosis of a symbolic language that combines heritage and traditional legacy with contemporary society's thought and dynamics, often in a not-so-peaceful dialogue, a fundamental element emerges: the puppet. This element supports us in the search for our own cultural identity.

Our goal is to discover the aesthetic, visual, scenic, and dramatic potential of the puppet itself, as well as in its relationship with the actor, and in this discovery, explore the dramaturgy that characterizes us: to explore culture, belief, and legend allied with the city, technological exploration, and the speed of the global village. Throughout our artistic journey, we have presented various proposals to different audiences, including adults, youth, school, and family groups, as well as in basic and specialized training. One of our major commitments is the national and international tour of our projects. Decentralization, community work, partnership creation, and social and inclusive value are predominant concerns in our daily activities.

Over these couple decades, we have established the company as a contemporary artistic creation structure through dozens of show proposals presented nationally and internationally, whether they are our own creations or collaborations with other national and international cultural structures and entities. Our premise is to provide space for the creative freedom of our artistic team, ensuring the existence within the structure of various languages and diverse visions that unite in the common goal of developing the art of puppet theater. Reflection on social fragility issues and a keen eye on traditions and heritage form the basis of the Company's dramaturgy, consolidated in distinct yet simultaneously convergent perspectives.

Dialogue with diverse audiences and the involvement of creation in different contexts and spaces, as well as the intersection between entities and structures, is fundamental, creating multidisciplinary proposals aimed mainly at artistic communication with audiences. Noteworthy is our collaboration with numerous educational services in the implementation of activities in institutions such as monuments, museums, and heritage buildings.

art

links

• ei.marionetasmandragora.pt
• loja.marionetasmandragora.pt
• marionetasmandragora.pt
• facebook.com/marionetas.mandragora
• instagram.com/marionetas_mandragora
• youtube.com/@MarionetasMandragora

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