‘Come here for a moment, guys!’ said the technical drawing teacher at the end of the class. The students Alfonso and Daniel approached slowly, fearing a good scolding because the teacher had caught them in the middle of class trying to juggle. ‘Stop clowning around and call this number,’ he told them, to the surprise of both, handing them a piece of paper with the phone number of La Mano Tonta, a juggling association. At the association, they were taught how to juggle.
Funnily enough, thus began the career of Rufus the Great – Alfonso Alonso's (Valladolid, 1978) alter ego. After several years working with different companies, this character was born in 2000 in a variety show with Azar Teatro. The work of Rufus is particularly notable for its careful staging, circus techniques, constant audience participation, and –above all– ironic humour. He will be the artist who breathes life into Philip in this concert.
In 2014, he premiered the show Suena… ¡el circo! with Ana Hernández Sanchiz. Since then, they have continued to create together, doing so to the beat of music with shows like Memory and Al son de Cervantes (To the Sound of Cervantes). As Rufus is not only a juggler but also a bit of a clown, the symphony musicians have almost as much fun alongside him as the audience does, and his colleague Ana sometimes has trouble holding back her laughter when she is by his side on stage.