The Birthday of the Infanta

The Birthday of the Infanta

Toured 2 March – 7 May & 22 December 2011

A one-woman interpretation of Oscar Wilde’s bittersweet fairytale, re-imagined through physical storytelling theatre.

‘…prepare yourself for a performance like nothing you’ve ever seen before.’ - The Unit’s Young Reviewers Club: Megs Slark

Adults and young people alike are invited by the Infanta, the Spanish princess, to her 12th birthday party; this is the only day of the year she is allowed to play with children of a lower class.

The Birthday of the Infanta is a short story by Oscar Wilde, which tells of the events arranged to entertain the princess, culminating in a performance an ugly boy, and the way in which their meeting affects both their lives forever.

Using Trestle’s unique style and drawing on the passion of flamenco, the performer took the audience on a compelling journey, through the constraints of social hierarchies to the price paid for love. In an age of supreme superficiality, Trestle Unmasked explored how we value inner generosity and beauty.

The Birthday of the Infanta united key members of the creative teams behind Trestle’s last four years of work exploring dynamic cultural influences and the extraordinary bond between performer and audience. In this vibrant production, Trestle collaborated with Ramón Baeza, director of Increpación Danza, choreographer on Trestle’s production of Lola: The life of Lola Montez, which toured through 2008-9.

In December 2011, the performer and director went over to Barcelona to create a new telling of the story with two dancers from Increpacion Danza. One played the Infanta and the other the boy and two performances took place. We are currently working on developing this new version to tour Spain.

About Increpacion Danza
Increpacion Danza led by Artistic Directors Montse Sánchez and Ramón Baeza was born in 1993 out of research into the world of Spanish and Flamenco dance, and the fusion of traditional techniques with the aesthetic parameters and the choreography of contemporary dance. For more
information about Increpacion Danza visit www.increpacion.com.

For more information visit http://www.trestle.org.uk/whats-on/our-productions/archive/the-birthday-of-the-infanta/