A notebook from 1942 found at a flea market serves Xavier Bobés as a point of departure for a journey into Spain’s history during the Franco period. On the first page – usually the place left for names, addresses and telephone numbers – the following words are written: cosas que se olvidan fácilmente (things easily forgotten). Five audience members per performance are invited to dive into memories and the old days. Like a magician, Xavier Bobés conjures up objects; like a medium at a séance, he summons up the ghosts of history; like a croupier, he deals out cards and events.

Small memorabilia illustrate Spanish daily life of the time: a keychain from the Olympic Games; a magazine with the newly crowned king on the cover. Xavier Bobés manipulates the past with a vision for the future. By returning to a Spain that was enraptured by fascism when Franco made an alliance with Hitler, we are inspired to contemplate. Given the extremism that is spreading throughout Europe, the small piece reminds us in a sympathetically unpretentious way to never forget.

Xavier Bobés, born in Barcelona in 1977, lives in a small village called Ultramort close to Girona. He is a performer, director and stage designer. As an autodidact, he has been researching all kinds of objects from daily life for approximately 12 years. Since 2013, he has had an artist residency at the art center L’Animal a l’Esquena in Girona. He has had guest performances with his pieces at festivals domestically and internationally, e. g. Festival GREC in Barcelona, Mime Festival in London and Theaterfestival Basel. He has also been invited to numerous workshops.