Andorra's ENA Unveils 2026 Season with Debut Puppet Show and Youth Theatre Expansion

**Andorra's Escena Nacional d’Andorra (ENA) announces 2026 season with first puppet theatre production and expanded youth initiatives**

The Escena Nacional d’Andorra (ENA) has announced its 2026 programme, focusing on three pillars: support for young theatre and dance companies in their third biennial edition, a new pathway for emerging talents aged 21-30 via the evolved F5 project now called Emergents, and professional production advances including the organisation’s debut puppet show.

The puppet initiative, developed with Encamp commune and Valencia’s Abast Teatre, combines creation and training for local professionals to explore scenic languages beyond text-based theatre, dance, and circus. Production director Txell Díaz said it aims to incorporate puppetry, a little-known discipline locally, with an open casting call for performers due shortly. The show will premiere in November at Encamp’s Ànima festival. Artistic director Núria Montes emphasised the desire to expand performing arts offerings, stating it goes beyond conventional formats.

This follows a strong 2025, when ticket revenue rose to €35,000 from €24,000 the prior year across 39 performances attended by 2,531 people, plus over 7,000 website visits. Multi-day runs optimised resources, open castings drew high participation, expanded distribution doubled projects, and a new salary framework boosted professionalisation. Cultural Promotion director Joan-Marc Joval praised the leadership team—Montes, Díaz, and distribution head Emma Riba—for surpassing expectations in their first full year after transition. “They have grown the network and given distribution a new dimension,” he said, noting increased audiences and parish-wide shows.

For young companies, ENA now handles executive direction for Jocand (eight members under Xavi Pérez) and JoDansa (six members led by Rosa Maria Herrador), with external artists retaining creative control. New ties with Sant Julià de Lòria and Escaldes-Engordany communes fund 10-day workshops: Max Grosse on new dramaturgies for Jocand in Sant Julià, and Àngel Duran on dance for JoDansa in Escaldes-Engordany. Rehearsals are set for July and August to aid early professional steps. Casts include diverse participants, many from traditional dance groups.

Emergents targets performers post-youth companies but pre-full professional status, building on last year’s F5 pilot—a six-day creation under Juanma Casero ending in a Comunal premiere. This year’s open call for interpreters and directors offers a week-long theatre residency for experimental, interdisciplinary work, with ENA providing logistics, production, networking, and visibility, including links to circuits like Festival Z and Sala Ferèstec.

Ongoing efforts include audience growth, artist communication, and institutional partnerships. Abrakadabra, ENA’s recent hit directed by Joan Anton Rechi from a Casero text, continues with local runs, a Barcelona stint at Teatre Aquitània, and the Cap Butaca Buida event on 21 March 2026, organised by ADETCA to fill theatres nationwide and internationally.