Curtas em papel, osso e fel (Short stories in paper, bones and bile) was written based on a collage of texts by three authors (Edward Gorey, Mário-Henrique Leiria and Max Aub) and songs by Nick Cave, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. The show uses some aspects of the universe behind Nick Cave’s Murder Balades, and adds other murder stories found in songs, books, operas, as well as in news stories. Murderers are represented by heads made with paper and lit by a lamp, as inspired by ancient talking heads used by magicians, ventriloquists and automaton showmen.

Two actors, first dressed up as gorillas, relate murders using a ventriloquist dummy and paper toys. The killers – represented by articulated heads – confess the reasons behind their crimes and reveal several details: the arms they used, the time it took for the victims to die, or the amount of blood they shed. They killed out of vengeance, passion, or even because of daily trivial conflicts. The killers’ heads often wear banners asking for forgiveness, and some crimes are told using shadow theatre. After reading each story, the actors stop to sing a nursery rhyme and play a clapping game. The show ends with a murder on stage.