Spanish artist Macarena Recuerda has been invited to participate in the International Children’s Theater and Puppet Festival of Egypt with her acclaimed show The Watching Machine, which will be staged in Alexandria from 2 to 7 December. The international festival, organised by the Al-Shakmijia Foundation, brings together theatre groups from Egypt and around the world.
The Watching Machine is an interactive performance exploring surveillance in contemporary society. Using technology as a creative tool, the piece invites audiences to question issues of privacy, monitoring and control in the digital age. Through its immersive installation format, the work examines how mass observation shapes individual freedom and power dynamics today.
The show, suitable for both children and adults, has been widely presented internationally and has received notable recognition, including the “Most Innovative Show” award at the 2022 Lleida Puppet Fair and the “New Languages” prize at the 2023 FETEN European Performing Arts Fair for Children.
In Alexandria, the performance will be held at Anfoushi Cultural Palace on 3 December at 8:00 p.m. Recuerda will also deliver a masterclass at the Instituto Cervantes on 4 December at 2:00 p.m. for professionals and enthusiasts interested in contemporary puppetry and performance art.
Macarena Recuerda is trained in performing arts, theatre and dance, with a degree from the Institut del Teatre. Her practice, rooted in participatory methodologies, has since 2012 focused on rethinking the spectator’s role and creating new spaces for artistic engagement. Her work follows two main lines of research: stage language, and participatory and educational environments.
The Egypt International Festival for Children’s Theater & Puppetry celebrates its inaugural edition in 2025, aiming to establish itself as a leading global platform for children’s theatre and puppetry. Organised by the Al-Shakmijia Foundation—an institution dedicated to promoting culture and the arts across theatre, visual arts and music—the festival is directed by Gamal Yakout, a prominent theatre director and academic. Yakout previously headed the Department of Directing and Multimedia at the Higher Institute of Children’s Arts at the Cairo Academy of Arts and is currently a professor of acting, directing and theatre production at Alexandria University.
