Theatre of the Ancients founder Joanna Hruby is passionate about preserving, reviving and celebrating the rich folk culture of Ibiza through storytelling. She has an ever-expanding repertoire of traditional folk tales (or ‘rondalles’) from Ibiza and Formentera, collected by the Balearic folklorist Joan Castelló Guasch in the early 1900’s, and translated from Eivissenc (Ibiza’s native Catalan dialect) into English. She sees these stories as portals into the heart of Eivissa’s authentic culture, and the ways of life, knowledge and beliefs associated with it. By performing these tales in her native English language she wishes to instil in Ibiza’s ex-pat community and many foreign visitors a deeper awareness and respect for Ibiza’s local culture, history and folklore.

Joanna has performed tellings of Ibiza’s folktales for diverse events, including the Dia Europeu de les Llengües (the European Day of Languages), organized by the Ayuntamiento de Santa Eulària, Ibiza, and World Localization Day, in association with the organization Local Futures (founded by activist and writer Helena Norberg-Hodge). She has also performed for Extinction Rebellion Ibiza‘s Earth Day, the regenerative farm Juntos, and the multi-disciplinary arts event Rooted Revelry.