The Street and the Square at the Matadero Madrid cultural space will host a programme made up of four outdoor installations for all the family from 20 December to 4 January 2026. It is a proposal that forms part of the latest edition of Madrid, Navidad de encuentro (Madrid, Christmas Meeting).
The Picto Facto Company presents The Mad Hatter's Café. Sculptures in the shape of giant toys have appeared overnight and these spectacular inflatable forms take us to the Wonderland in which Lewis Carroll’s Alice was immersed, offering many surprises. Visitors may sit or wander freely through this installation, which turns the square into a fantastic café. They can also participate: the imagination is free to run wild here and people can say whatever they want. The French Picto Facto company brings more than thirty years experience in participatory street installations and shows to this Christmas programme.
The Toc de Fusta Company presents the participatory installation called L'atelier, a very special carpentry workshop in which the machines seem to work on their own. Visiting this workshop is a treat for the curious mind. This participatory installation enables visitors to discover, play and activate mechanisms from Crusoe’s Friends.
Crusoe’s Friends, another interactive proposal by Toc de Fusta can also be seen, offering a playful experience for all ages, a space to discover automatons and their mechanisms. After being shipwrecked, Crusoe was bored, sad and alone on an island. That was until he realised that he had all of the remnants of his ship and plenty of time on his hands. Starting here, this interactive installation speaks to us, drawing a parallel with Robinson Crusoe, in relation to playing, solitude and imagination.
The Toc de Fusta Company has spent fifteen years working with wood to fill children’s imagination and senses with games, learning and fun.
The Toti Toronell Company is staging Microshakespeare, a delightful interactive object theatre in which a spectator must act as a puppeteer and move the objects inside the theatre while the rest of the audience listens to the performance through headphones. This is a unique way to see and experience five of Shakespeare's great classics thanks to the Toti Toronell Company, which specializes in creating new ways of relating to the audience.
The micro-theatre and clown installation, Dr. Masterfil's Caravan, can be seen thanks to the Eudald Ferré Company and the Passabarret Company. When winter comes and the streets are filled with lights, a small caravan appears in the middle of the square. Doctor Masterfil emerges from it, an ingenious yet scatterbrained inventor who has come to Madrid to share his impossible miracles. Welcome to this puppet and clown show by the Eudald Ferré and Passabarret companies, in which the circus spirit and the excitement of Christmas come together to remind us that extraordinary things sometimes fit into the smallest of places.
Finally, there is the Automaton Theatre, a fascinating orchestra of automatons that opens the doors to a world of wonders. It is a unique show divided into ten stages, where mechanical figures come to life in an environment decorated down to the tiniest detail. From costumbrist scenes to vibrant cabaret shows, each scene immerses visitors in an incomparable visual experience. The Automaton Theatre is a true jewel in Madrid's cultural heritage. It was created in the 1940s and has recently been restored to its former glory.
Programme:
- The Mad Hatter’s Café. Picto Facto Company. Installation - For all ages
- L’atelier. Toc de Fusta Company. Participatory installation. Over the age of 7
- Crusoe’s Friends. Toc de Fusta Company. Participatory installation. For all ages
- Microshakespeare. Cia Toti Toronell. Participatory installation. For all ages
- Dr. Masterfil’s Caravan. Eudald Ferré Company and Passabarret Company. Micro-theatre and clown installation Over the age of 4
- Automaton Theatre. Madrid City Council’s Automaton Theatre. Mechanical Theatre. “Come and See” Fairground. For all ages
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