11-Year-Old Actress Urges Critical Thinking in Andorran Satire

Inés Abrantes, an 11-year-old actress with the Massana-based youth theatre group Teen Project, urges people to cultivate critical thinking by questioning the root causes of problems rather than just their effects.

Abrantes discovered acting after overcoming stage fright during a school presentation, when a friend suggested theatre as a way to build confidence. She joined Teen Project from its inception and has not stopped performing since. Nervousness still strikes before stepping onstage, but she manages it with a quirky pre-show ritual: brushing her teeth.

The group is staging its latest production, *La novel·la*, a collectively created satire on power and manipulation, at the Fontetes Theatre in Massana on Friday and Saturday. The play emerged from discussions among members about pressing issues in Andorra, particularly the rising difficulty of achieving housing independence amid soaring rents.

Set in the 19th century, the story centres on Arcadi, a jailed writer offered conditional freedom if he pens a novel to "calm" restless youth—essentially masking harsh realities. His characters start as his creations but gain awareness, veering beyond his control. Abrantes plays Leonor, a noblewoman drawn into societal woes, eager to enter politics and drive change.

The young performer sees the work as a call to action. Andorra's information landscape, she argues, often feels overly filtered, lacking diverse viewpoints. "The key is to motivate people to think, to ask why things are this way, and to fight for change," she says. "We can't take everything for granted."

Abrantes hopes audiences leave questioning the status quo, refusing passive acceptance, and pushing for solutions instead.