It is a production by the Culture Area of Valencian Provincial Council, within the framework of collaboration between both institutions and that, each year, aims to address the reality of today’s Europe from a critical viewpoint, always with the participation of the audience on its reflections.

In its eleventh edition, the staging of ‘Las Pequeñas Europas‘ confronts the “monsters such as the war and death drums that are beating again on the continent”. “The darkness brought on by the bombs reminds us that human life is fragile, sometimes even miserable, and riddled with fear”.

Thus, the young actors and actresses of UV Escena Erasmus will take the opportunity to address the audience, from whom they will extract the deepest fears of their souls to make them sing and dance on stage.

The details of the European project and the 2023 tour were presented at a press conference this Wednesday at the Centre Museístic la Beneficència, in a ceremony presided over by the deputy for Culture of the Valencian Provincial Council, Xavier Rius, who was accompanied by the vice-principalss for Culture and International Collaboration of the Universitat de València, Ester Alba and Carles Padilla, respectively, and the director of the play, Josep Valero.

The deputy for Culture has announced the tour of the Valencian regions, which takes place within the framework of collaboration with the Universitat de València. The 2023 tour will be premiered at La Nau, and will then begin its usual tour of the Valencian regions with the following route: 3 and 4 June, El Genovés; 4 and 5 June, Barx; 21 June, Ontinyent; 23 and 24 June, Torrebaja; 24 and 25 June, Rafelcofer; 30 June and 1 July, Alfarrasí; 7 and 8 July, Buñol; 9 and 10 July, Serra; 14 July, Gandia; and 15 and 16 July, Càrcer.

For Xavier Rius, who is ending his term of office as head of the Provincial Council's Department of Culture, "the collaboration with the 'Little Europes' programme of UV Escena Erasmus has been highly stimulating over the last few years. I have been able to see first-hand how the experiences and cultural exchanges derived from each tour bring great value and stimulate relations of affection between the fraternal peoples of Europe". 

This year's play, 'Una història de por', has been written by the dramatists Anna Marí and Daniel Tormo. These texts have also counted on the creative participation of the students of Escena Erasmus 2023, all of them coordinated by Daniel Tormo. The three of them, Valero, Marí and Tormo, are the supervisors of the Escena Erasmus project. The show also features the choreography of the renowned dancer and choreographer from Ontinyent, Júlia Cambra.

The show stars a dozen students from Germany, France, Italy, Colombia, Bolivia, Great Britain and Spain: Mariana de Luca, Eloïse O'Connor, Patrícia Garrigues, Tobias Eckstein, Claudia Padilla, Neus Francés, Emilia Levizzani, Ginevra Trifilò, Lisa Marschner and Elisa Buitrago.

According to the words of the show's director, Josep Valero, 'Una història de por' is a theatrical production "in the form of an acid comedy full of songs that poses a fascinating and emotional, critical and plural reflection on the concept of "fear", what fears our society has, what scares our young people, what fears we create to have fun and what fears we have intrinsic as a collective".

Vice-principals Ester Alba and Carles Padilla have highlighted the journey made by Escena Erasmus. With 14 years of experience, it is a project that works with the creative potential of young students to raise public awareness of real social problems. Now, Escena Erasmus focuses on the war in 21st century Europe, a political and territorial conflict that led Russia to bombard Ukraine on 24 February 2022 and which continues to this day, with numerous economic and social consequences.

In previous editions, the international university show has made critical journeys, especially with the migratory movements resulting from economic, social or war crises, also through cultural dialogue.

Una història de por' will premiere from 24 to 26 May at the ‘Matilde Salvador’ Room of the La Nau Cultural Centre at 19:00. Tickets to see the show can be purchased through the application https://events.fundacio.es/o/5 or physically at any of the establishments of La Tenda de la Universitat in La Nau and the different campuses of the UV.

Eleven years of 'Las Pequeñas Europas' in the Valencian territorial area
‘Las Pequeñas Europas' is a touring stage project promoted by the Department of Culture of the Provincial Council of Valencia, which reflects the nomadic spirit of theatre and its itinerancy through the villages, with the active participation of students hosted by the Universitat de València, through the Erasmus programme, and local students. The idea of this initiative, which reaches its eleventh edition in 2023, is to establish a bridge of dialogue, coexistence and collaboration between a group of young Europeans, and to establish links with the social and cultural life of each town they visit, not only to invigorate it, but also to offer a path of possibilities for growth through the reflection that culture allows.