Grec is Barcelona's big summer arts festival, and it turns 50 this year. Most of the lineup is grown-up theatre, but we pulled out 5 shows that really work for kids: circus, dance, and puppetry, all wordless or easy to follow even if your Catalan is shaky. Many of them give families of four or more 35% off.
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What’s in this collection
Mixing circus, dance, puppets and magic, this wordless show follows two friends solving the mystery of missing socks in a surreal kingdom. Performers Mira Ravald and Luis Sartori do Vale navigate surprising transformations created from everyday clothing, designed by visual artist Helga Stentzel. The production, by Finnish company Portmanteau, runs 53 minutes and suits ages 4 and up.
Puppet creator André Mello, musician Jim Pinchen, and choreographer Thomas Noone present a new work featuring the protagonist Giraffe alongside Lion, Turtle, Elephant, and Snake. When these animals gather at a dance party, Giraffe discovers she moves differently from the others. The performance combines dance and puppetry in an intimate format exploring self-acceptance and difference.
Compaña is a 50-minute circus-theatre hybrid featuring juggling, object manipulation, and life-sized puppets. Performer Jesús Velasco plays a solitary character searching for human connection, using handmade props and surreal imagery to explore imagination and loneliness. The largely non-verbal show blends circus disciplines with puppet theatre, designed for audiences aged 6 and up.
Julian Vogel performs a high-energy contemporary circus act combining acrobatics, plate-spinning, live percussion, roller skates, and a giant rotating ceramic sphere. The Swiss artist's solo show blends circus arts with visual performance, featuring continuous motion, intentional mishaps, and moments of stillness created by the ceramic sphere's presence.
The 30th Winter Circus features contemporary circus arts centered on plant metaphors, directed by Escarlata (Bet Miralta and Jordi Aspa). A mixed cast of young and experienced performers demonstrates acrobatics, clowning, and aerial techniques across horizontal, vertical, and circular movement. The show draws inspiration from pioneer plants that survive harsh conditions, marking 30 years of the Circ d'Hivern at the Ateneu Popular 9 Barris, a former asphalt plant turned cultural space through community self-management.