Catarina et la beauté de tuer des fascistes

Every family has its own traditions, this one kills fascists. And all its members must perform this task for the first time, one day or another. At the time of Catarina’s “baptism”, planned for a rural weekend spent in a village in Portugal, with a politician kidnapped for the purpose, the young girl frustrates expectations. Her stubborn refusal leads to conflicts and infighting within the family.

Can the search for a better world be reconciled with the recourse to violence? With this piece, the playwright and director of the Avignon Festival, Tiago Rodrigues, launches a head-on attack on the roots of totalitarianism. Little by little, the family offers a worrying mirror up to contemporary political challenges, as it questions the rise of the extreme-right and populism, along with the way ideas are manipulated.

Scenery evoking the Portuguese countryside serves as a backdrop for this tormented history. Rodrigues offers a Chekhov-style universe, in which the complex characters, with their richly nuanced natures, struggle between their convictions and the reality of their actions. With its luxuriant staging and sleek costumes, the piece comes across as an intense, challenging and vital theatrical experience.

Information

Venue

Grande salle

Duration

2hr30

Language

pt, surtitling fr, en

Price

10€ > 35€

Cast

Text and Direction
Tiago Rodrigues

With
Isabel Abreu
Romeu Costa
António Fonseca
Beatriz Maia
Marco Mendonça
António Parra
Carolina Passos Sousa
João Vicente

Artistic Collaboration
Magda Bizarro

Set Design
F. Ribeiro

Lighting Design
Nuno Meira

Costume Design
José António Tenente

Sound Design, Original Music and Composition
Pedro Costa

Choirmaster, Vocal Arrangement
João Henriques

Voice-over
Cláudio de Castro
Nadezhda Bocharova
Paula Mora
Pedro Moldão

Choreography Consultants
Sofia Dias
Vítor Roriz

Weapons Technical Advisor
David Chan Cordeiro

Translation
Thomas Resendes (French)
Daniel Hahn (English)
Vincenzo Arsilio (Italian)
Igor Metzeltin (German)

Supertitles
Patrícia Pimentel

Production
Teatro Nacional D. Maria II

Delegated Production
Festival d’Avignon

Coproduction
Wiener Festwochen, Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione, Théâtre de la Cité, CDN Toulouse Occitanie, Théâtre Garonne Scène européenne Toulouse, Festival d’Automne à Paris, Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Teatro di Roma, Teatro Nazionale, Comédie de Caen, Théâtre de Liège, Maison de la Culture d'Amiens, BIT Teatergarasjen, Le Trident Scène nationale de Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Teatre Lliure, Centro Cultural Vila Flor, O Espaço do Tempo

Support
Almeida Garrett Wines, Cano Amarelo, Culturgest– Fundação Caixa Geral de Depósitos, Zouri Shoes, Onda – office national de diffusion artistique

Acknowledgments : Mariana Gomes, Rui Pina Coelho, Margarida Bak Gordon, Rita Mendes, l’équipe du Teatro Nacional D. Maria II. We also warmly thank Sara Barros Leitão and Pedro Gil, who may no longer be on stage with us but will always be Catarina.

The performance includes songs by Hania Rani (Biesy et Now, Run), Joanna Brouk (The Nymph Rising, Calling the Sailor), Laurel Halo (Rome Theme III et Hyphae) and Rosalía (De Plata).
Première in september 2020 in het Centro Cultural Vila Flor (Guimarães, Portugal)
Genomineerd voor Beste Internationale Voorstelling bij de Premis de la Crítica van Catalonië.
Winnaar van de UBU-prijs 2023 voor Beste Buitenlandse Voorstelling in Italië.
Verkozen tot Beste Buitenlandse Voorstelling 2023 door het Franse Kritiekerssyndicaat.
Virginia Reiter-prijs voor Beste Buitenlandse Actrice aan Béatriz Maia voor haar rol als Catarina.