‘Ombro a Ombro – As Feras’ – a title taken from a verse of the song ‘Tourada’, written by Ary dos Santos – features text by Luís Filipe Borges and David Neto, based on the sixth episode of the fictional series ‘Sempre’ by Manuel Pureza, as stated by actress Luísa Ortigoso, one of the founders of the company.
Directed by Beto Coville, the artistic director and resident director, the play is inspired by the episode portraying the murder of law student and dictatorship opponent Ribeiro Santos by a political police officer from PIDE/DGS on October 12, 1972, in Lisbon, Luísa Ortigoso added.
From there, the storyline is fictionalized, set in the home of the sexagenarian Catarina, located near Rua António Maria Cardoso, the headquarters of PIDE/DGS, on the night of April 25-26, 1974.
On that night, Catarina is accompanied by her Catholic neighbor, Deolinda, who fears the revolutionary change. Tension escalates when Catarina’s house is invaded “by three university students who apparently just saved a PIDE/DGS agent from being lynched by the enraged populace,” Luísa Ortigoso explained.
The actress noted the “relevance and timeliness of the play” due to the “rise of the far-right” and the growing threat to the “values and rights achieved with April 25, particularly that of freedom itself.”
Luísa Ortigoso mentioned, however, that the company does not produce “moralist” theater, choosing instead to stage “relevant and pertinent” questions that engage the audience in thought.
‘Ombro a Ombro – As Feras’ is supported by the Directorate-General for the Arts under the Art and Democracy Program and aims to address “the bloodshed perpetrated by PIDE in a confined António Maria Cardoso when the regime was already overthrown by Marcello Caetano’s surrender at Largo do Carmo,” according to a note on the play.
Despite the “widely spread idea of a ‘bloodless revolution’, people were killed on April 25,” it adds.
The cast of ‘Ombro a Ombro – As Feras’, which will also include a documentary presented during the play’s construction and an undated debate, consists of Luísa Ortigoso, Maria D’Aires, Miguel Damião, António Camelier, Gonçalo Botelho, and Cirila Bossuet.
The music is composed by Davide Zaccaria, with set design by Eurico Lopes and lighting design by Pedro Santos.
The project was partnered with production company Coyote Vadio and consultative input from director Manuel Pureza, without whom Luísa Ortigoso emphasized “it would be impossible” to bring to the stage.
Founded in 2018 by a group of actors and director Beto Coville, the Companhia Teatro Livre is currently based in Alcochete.
The artistic directors are resident director Beto Coville and Luísa Ortigoso, who also serve in the general direction along with Helena Veloso. João Araújo and Sofia Brito are also actors in the company, which regularly collaborates with professionals in costume design and lighting.
