Andorran Street Artists Stage 24-Hour Eviction Play to Expose Housing Crisis

A street theatre company has spotlighted Andorra's housing crisis through a 24-hour performance in Sant Julià de Lòria, transforming a public square into a symbolic home to highlight barriers to stable living.

The production, Benvinguts al nostre desnonament ("Welcome to Our Eviction"), ran from 9pm Friday to the same time Saturday in Plaça Calonge-Sant Antoni. Created by Les Somatents—a group of four Andorran artists aged 22 to 27 from the inaugural cohort of the Jove Companyia Nacional d’Andorra—the piece was co-produced by the fifth FesTac street theatre festival. Performers Maria Solsona, Laia Tarifa, Lua Roca, and Daniel Abreu enacted daily routines such as cooking, sleeping, and conversing in a tent and makeshift flat, blending scripted dialogue with real-time exchanges.

One script excerpt challenged privilege: having a job, home, or family should not be "a matter of luck," but a right, with lines underscoring that access to shelter ought not depend on chance. The endurance test of staying in character for a full day emphasised physical and emotional strain, positioning public space and shared living at the intervention's core. It argued that housing struggles extend beyond youth to anyone whose life plans are curtailed by inaccessibility.

The group had previewed the work on October 3 at Animal Escola de Teatre following an artistic residency at La Feréstec, the school's creator space. Saturday drew hundreds of festival attendees, who joined a solidarity sit-in at the close. Roca stated that in Andorra, evictions amount to "expulsions." Tarifa hoped it would ignite lasting awareness, noting local issues differ from those in Catalonia or Barcelona yet demand action. Solsona highlighted the toll of empathetic encounters and backlash, including "perroflauta" insults and online criticism.

Police traffic agents briefly intervened around 4am amid disruptive revellers, but engagement remained strong overall. The performers stressed housing vulnerability affects everyone, aiming to dismantle victim-blaming stigmas. Roca signalled intentions to stage it elsewhere.

FesTac saw robust crowds Saturday, with Sunday repeats featuring Inflable's Un 8 on loss, local shows Fe(minus) and Error 404: Identitat no trobada, and Ka Teatre's spy comedy Espies. The eviction performance cut through with its pointed social critique.