👋 Greetings, dear readers.

I survived World Book Day week! It was a very busy one, and I ended up exhausted but satisfied with the response from the hundreds of kids who experienced my storytelling. Some even gave me great instant feedback, which I always treasure. Gotta love kids' honesty!

Now, I’m switching from kids to adults for the next two weeks. As this newsletter gets to you, I’m on my way to Germany for a mini-tour of my Playback Theatre craft. My first stop is Berlin, where I’ll be performing, teaching, and coaching. You’ll probably get constant updates if you check my Instagram.

Last week I was part of a Playback Theatre open performance and something peculiar happened, something that I’ve never witness on my thirteen years of doing playback.

During the longer stories part of the session, a returning audience member came to the teller’s chair and surprised us by pulling out a cardboard box. “I have pieces of paper with things written on them,” they said, “and I want the actors to pick some to act out.” Our conductor handled it gently and respectfully, taking a few slips of paper with concepts written on them and asking us to perform them as a chorus, which we did with good rapport with the audience and the “teller”.

To be honest, I felt like a circus monkey in that moment. It felt as though an audience member was attempting to steer the session according to their own agenda. While we stayed professional and yes-anded the situation, the request itself didn't feel respectful to the spirit of Playback Theatre. I don't believe there was any ill intent (it certainly didn't feel like heckling) but it served as a good reminder of how easily a well-meaning audience can become disruptive.

I bet what I described is just a typical Tuesday for any stand-up comedian (are there any reading this?) but it was shocking to encounter it in the context of a more grounded art form. Anyway every experience is useful to raise our awareness and figure out with advance how to aikido these situations.

Yeah, I’m aware this week I brought a story instead of any tip, but let me know if YOU have any tip for dealing with surprising spectators.

🎭 The Theatre bit

Joan Fuster was a Valencian writer. Having published numerous works of fiction and political essays, he is regarded as one of the most prolific advocates for Catalan-speaking culture and identity during Francisco Franco’s dictatorship. He even survived assassination attempts by the far-right after the dictatorship ended.

El Tocadiscos de Joan Fuster (Joan Fuster’s Record Player) is a play by songwriter Pau Alabajos. It presents a fictional interview with Fuster regarding his relationship with music, specifically his relationship with the political protest singers of the Franco era.

I first saw this play live in London several years ago, hosted by the Department of Catalan Studies at Queen Mary University. Last year, I managed to get a published copy, and had a good time revisiting it this past week. Following the author's cues, on the stage directions, to play specific songs made for a truly interactive reading experience. It felt like being part of a music record club, discussing songs and, more importantly, the power of songwriters to raise awareness of political issues.

And you can watch it here, even if it’s in catalan.

📚 🎮 🎥 📺 The geeky dessert

I’ve finally finished Clair Obscure: Expedition 33, the great surprise of the gaming world in 2025 by the hand of Sandfall Interactive, an independent French studio. It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed a turn-based RPG this much. More importantly, it’s a great story and the art direction is sublime.

Maybe the public hype and high expectations meant this game didn't land as deeply on me as it did with my peers. I did not cry at the end like others claimed to do. To this day, I’ve only cried over the ending of one RPG, and it wasn’t this one.

I don’t think it’s a perfect game. Even if it didn’t resonate with me as much, and I disagreed with certain narrative decisions, it’s a magnificent experience that I certainly don’t regret having.