Ricardo Ávila - Vumteatro (Portugal)

TEATRO DOM ROBERTO

24 and 25 May at 11.30pm and 4pm (Sat, Sun)

_{⇨ FREE ADMISSION}

_{Technique: Glove puppets Language: Portuguese Age guidance: Family-friendly +4 Runs: 30 min.}

In the 25 years of FIMFA, the popular Dom Roberto of course had to pay us a visit, as it has been a regular presence since the first edition, but this time Dom Roberto is coming from the Azores! Yes, it's an Azorean Roberto, by the glove of Ricardo Ávila, who will present The Diabolical Barber, at a frenetic pace, with surprising pyrotechnic effects and illusions.

In the play The Diabolical Barber, Don Roberto is getting married, but he can't afford to pay the barber. A great skirmish ensues, in which he always gets the better of the man. Not even Death escapes the beatings, explosions and other tricks of this Portuguese popular hero.

The Dom Roberto Theatre was declared Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2021. He is still part of many people's childhood memories, when it would appear in gardens, squares, fairs or on beaches with his small booth. Dom Roberto, the great hero!

“I always renew, even in the traditional repertoire. I realise that it's important to preserve oral heritage, but even that has to be done in a fresh way. That's how traditions are perpetuated, taking on contemporary forms.” - Ricardo Ávila

BIO

Ricardo Ávila is the only puppeteer in the Azores who makes Dom Roberto. Born in Terceira, he is a reading facilitator, storyteller, actor and puppeteer. He graduated in Early Childhood Education from the University of the Azores (2007) and studied for a master's degree in Theatre at the University of Évora (2012), with a final internship at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, Slovakia. He is co-founder of the theatre company Cães do Mar and works at the Luís da Silva Ribeiro Library, Angra do Heroísmo, where he coordinates the children's section, responsible for several projects to promote reading among children, young people and adults.

_CREDITS

_{Puppeteer: Ricardo Ávila Photography: Pedro Sardinha, Márcio Borges}

_{www.facebook.com/dom.roberto.585}