Institut Ramon LLull

‘Spraoi’, an Irish-Catalan show at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris

Performing.  Paris, 27/05/2015

The Gombeens, a theatre company formed by the Catalan Miquel Barceló and the Irishman Jonathan Gunning, present Spraoi in Paris. The show, designed for all audiences, tells the story of a meeting between two boys, one Irish and the other Catalan, who will struggle to bridge the gaps that separate them and be able to have fun together. The work is in Catalan and Irish and will be performed on 27 May at 16.30 at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris. 




Spraoi, which means ‘fun’ in Irish, is a production that combines theatre and mime and effortlessly takes the audience from laughter to tears. The story tells how an Irish boy and a Catalan boy have to overcome their differences, beginning with the language (the first speaks Gaelic, the second Catalan). One is extraverted and untidy, the other shy and neat. Together they have to try to have a good time and share their toys without turning each other’s worlds upside down. The clash of personalities has been the central subject of many plays, but rarely has it been treated with such humour as in Spraoi. The work is a Branar production in association with The Gombeens.

Jonathan Gunning and Miquel Barceló are The Gombeens, two clowns living in Galway who spread the word, through laughter, of a fairer society that demands participation and involvement. The theatrical duo has a long history in Ireland, taking shows from town to town and city to city like the troubadours of old. They call themselves “the buffoons of His Majesty the People”. 

The work, aimed mainly at children but also at an adult audience, combines theatre and mime and Catalan and Irish 

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