Human Chess

Children in Xàbia-Jávea stage a theatre performance on a huge chessboard.

In August, the town of Xàbia-Jávea, in the province of Alicante, holds a unique theatre performance: Human Chess. Boys and girls from local schools, aged 6-14 years, take part in this unusual initiative, bringing a range of characters to life. Using a game of chess as its basis, each year a different story is told with script, stage design and musical accompaniment. You do not have to know the rules of the game to enjoy and understand this theatrical representation.A narrator and two players (a student and a special guest, somehow affiliated to the town) read out the movements from an outstanding match in the history of chess. The young actors move as though they were pieces on the board, giving form to the work of theatre.