Theatre of the Ancients is a visual performance company specialising in arcane, hand-crafted and ritualistic storytelling traditions including puppetry, masks and paper theatre. Our work is inspired by, and rooted in the history, culture, folklore and mythology of the island of Ibiza, in Spain, where we are based, as well as being driven by an ongoing enquiry into the power of Story, and the role of Myth in modern times.

We develop multi-disciplinary projects spanning performance art, walkabout theatre, storytelling, ritual theatre and immersive theatre, as well as educational work for people of all ages. We have performed in theatres, city streets, farmland, libraries, caves and forests. We embrace participatory and community-driven practices, and are passionate about theatre as a tool for social and cultural repair. We consider ourselves to be weaving a path of ecological and cultural activism, via a
dedicated allegiance to beauty and enchantment.

We communicate primarily through the universally-accesible language of visual symbolism, however when our performances include verbal language, we attempt to balance the use of English, Spanish and Catalan, increasingly striving to honour the Catalan language as the foundation of the island of Eivissa’s culture, heritage and traditions.

Theatre of the Ancients was founded in 2015 by British artist, puppeteer, performance maker and writer Joanna Hruby. Having graduated from London’s Royal Central School of Speech and Drama with a first class honours degree in Theatre Practice – Puppetry, Joanna spent several years in England, developing work inspired by the myths and folklore of her native South Devon landscapes, before relocating to Ibiza, the island which ensnared her imagination as a young child.

Joanna Hruby is also the creator of The Wells of Tanit, an English language podcast celebrating the culture, history, myths, folklore and ecology of Ibiza. You can listen to it here, or via Itunes, Audioboom and Spotify.