![Tricicle2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Tricicle2.jpg)
Tricicle is a humorous gestural
theater company
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
of three actors, Joan Gràcia, Paco Mir, and Carles Sans. They founded the company in 1979 to perform brief
sketches in the street and at alternative venues.
At that time, the three members of Tricicle were students at
Barcelona’s Institut del Teatre and specialized in
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
and in the
dramatic arts
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
. In 1982, following several seasons of performances at alternative venues, they made their debut on the professional circuit at the Sala Villarroel in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
with a show comprising a collection of different sketches created during their time at the so-called cafés-teatro (bars and
cafés
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-c ...
offering live performances). The show, entitled ''Manicomic'', was both a critical and commercial success and went on to win a prize at
Sitges International Theater Festival that year.
History
In 1982, they got their first professional engagement; a premiere at the Barcelona Theater "Villarroel" of their first production, Manicomic, a collection of some gags they had created over three years. That same year, they received their first professional recognition: a prize at the International Theater Festival of Sitges.
Recognition in Spain
In 1983, they met
"Chicho" Narciso Ibáñez Serrador, which gave them the opportunity to perform a sketch on the game show ''Un, dos, tres... responda Otra vez'' (One, two, three ... respond again). They performed a parody of
Julio Iglesias
Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top record ...
' "I'm a crook, I am a gentleman."
In 1984, the show ''Exit'' premiered. The show had toured in various Spanish cities and was invited to perform the work in various countries.
Slastic
In 1986, Tricicle premiered their third work, ''Slastic'': a series of comic situations focusing on the world of
sport
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
s. The company itself chose this work in November 2004 to celebrate its 25th anniversary.
Later, Tricicle joined with two other companies of Spain,
Dagoll Dagom and
Append
In computer programming, append is the operation for concatenating linked lists or arrays in some high-level programming languages.
Lisp
Append originates in the Lisp programming language. The append procedure takes zero or more (linked) lists a ...
, to found the production company "3xtr3s" (three by three). The new company, in addition to producing shows of the three companies and other groups, won ''
Teatre Victòria'', of
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. The first work produced "3xtr3s" at the Victoria Theatre was "Botiga dels horrors" (
The Little Shop of Horrors
''The Little Shop of Horrors'' is a 1960 American horror comedy film directed by Roger Corman. Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about an inadequate florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human blood. The fi ...
) of
Howard Ashman
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
, which received critical acclaim.
Maturity
In 1992, the show premiered its fourth production: ''Terrific''. That same year, they premiered a second TV series (Festivals) and began preparing the first short film that introduced them to the world of cinema. On August 9, 1992, they performed at the
Montjuïc Olympic Stadium as part of the closing ceremony of the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
in their native city, Barcelona. It was a simple number with reverence and sympathy to the political leaders, including the world's most important, in the stadium. It was the first comic gag performed as part of an Olympic ceremony.
The restless activity of the group and the constant requests that came flooding in from all over the world forced the group to the point that to be able to concentrate on new creative endeavors, they designed a clone of themselves; Tricicle. They created a second company, which would direct themselves, and be responsible for making representations of his works in countries around the world, while they could focus on other things.
''Terrrific'' was followed in 1996 by ''Entretrés'', which represents over three years in various cities.
In 1999, they premiered ''Tricicle 20'', an anthology of some of their gags from their shows which commemorated the company's twentieth anniversary.
In 2002, Tricicle premiered ''Sit'', a collection of comic situations, all involving a chair. In the winter of 2004, it was performed for three months in a theater in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
.
On November 3, 2004, they celebrated its 25th anniversary in an event that drew more than 15,000 spectators in the
Palau Sant Jordi
Palau Sant Jordi (, en, St. George's Palace) is an indoor sporting arena and multi-purpose installation that is part of the Olympic Ring complex located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, it was ...
in Barcelona. The event (co-produced with the daily newspaper ''
Sport
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
'', which also celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary), was called ''"25 + 25"'', and consisted of a special recreation of their most successful work, ''Slastic''. Some athletes from and based in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
in the previous 25 years were involved in the production (including
Ángel Nieto
Ángel Nieto Roldán (25 January 1947 – 3 August 2017) was a Spanish professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He was one of the most accomplished motorcycle racers in the history of the sport, winning 13 World Championships and 90 Grand Prix ...
,
Miguel Indurain,
Alex Corretja,
Sergi Bruguera
Sergi Bruguera i Torner (; born 16 January 1971) is a former professional tennis player from Spain. He won consecutive men's singles titles at the French Open in 1993 and 1994, a silver medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in men's singles and reache ...
,
Ronaldinho
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian retired professional association football, footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deplo ...
and
Hristo Stoichkov), as they volunteered to perform each of the gags. Comedians including Millán Salcedo,
Santiago Segura
Santiago Segura Silva (born 17 July 1965) is a Spanish filmmaker and actor. He also worked to a lesser extent as a television presenter, voice actor and comic book writer, as well as being a collector of original comic books.
At 12, he began ...
and
Pepe Rubianes performed.
As of 2005, ''Tricicle'' has made many tours around the world, including
China,
Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, and
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, while continuing to work on many projects. Meanwhile, the second company, Tricicle, is making more performances in places that ''Tricicle'' did not perform.
Theatre
* 1982: Manicomic
* 1984: Exit
* 1986: Slastic
* 1992: Terrrific
* 1996: Entretres
* 1999: Tricicle 20
* 2002: Sit
* 2007: Garrick
* 2012: Bits
* 2017: Hits
Film
* Features :
** 1995: Palace
* Shorts :
** 1993: Quien mal anda, mal acaba
** 1995: David
** 1996: Mendigos sin fronteras
** 1997: Polvo eres
** 2002: Sit (documentary)
Television
* 1987: Tres Estrelles
* 1992: Fiestas populares
* 1994: Xooof!
* 1999: Pecera de BTV
* 2000–2003: Dinamita
* 2005: Teletipos
* 2005: Trilita
* 2010: Més Dinamita
Special events
* 1992:
Juegos Paralímpicos (Paralympic Games)
* 1992: Closing Ceremony of the
Barcelona '92 Olympics
* 1992:
Seville Expo '92
The Seville Expo '92 was a universal exposition that took place from Monday, April 20 to Monday, October 12, 1992, on La Isla de La Cartuja (Charterhouse Island), Seville, Spain. The theme for the expo was "The Age of Discovery", celebrating the ...
* 1993:
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in ...
* 2004: 25 + 25
Awards
* Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts, 2009
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References
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{{Authority control
Spanish mimes
Theatre companies in Catalonia