The 42nd Almada Festival, organized by the Almada Theater Company (CTA) and the local City Council, features 46 theater and dance performances and 16 outdoor concerts, alongside parallel initiatives such as colloquia, debates, and exhibitions.
‘Qui som?’, by the French-Catalan company Baro d’Evel, directed by founders Camille Decourtye & Blaï Mateu Trias, is the festival’s opening performance. Scheduled for July 4 and 5 at the Centro Cultural de Belém (CCB) in Lisbon, it raises two questions: “Who are we? And who do we want to become?”
Featured at the 2024 Festival d’Avignon, ‘Qui som?’ brings together dancers, musicians, acrobats, clowns, and a ceramicist in a “humor-filled show that straddles dance and circus,” according to the festival’s program.
In Almada, the inaugural day highlights ‘Les gros patinent bien — Cabaret de carton,’ by the French Company Le Fils du Grand Réseau, featured in a production by Pierre Guillois & Olivier Martin-Salvan.
The organizing company debuts ‘Um adeus mais-que perfeito,’ based on a text by Austrian Nobel laureate Peter Handke, at the Experimental Room of the Joaquim Benite Municipal Theater.
Directed by Teresa Gafeira, the play explores the “spiral of pain that drove the writer’s mother to despair, leading her to end her life at 51 in 1971, a year before the text was written,” notes the program.
‘Friends of Forsythe,’ curated by William Forsythe & Rauf ‘Rubberlegz’ Yasit, is the first German dance performance, scheduled for July 5 and 6 at the main hall of the Joaquim Benite Municipal Theater.
On July 6 and 7, puppet company Carlo Colla & Figli returns to the Romeu Correia Municipal Forum with the 2024 Honor Show, ‘La tempesta,’ a Shakespearean text translated by Eduardo de Filippo and staged by Eugenio Monti Colla, featuring over 150 puppets.
‘Telhados de Vidro’ by Teatro da Trindade, ‘A casa morreu — Diário de uma República III’ by Amarelo Silvestre, inspired by photographs of Augusto Brázio & Nelson D’Aires with artistic direction by Fernando Giestas, ‘Há qualquer coisa prestes a acontecer’ directed by Victor Hugo Pontes, and ‘As aves’ by Mala Voadora and Comédias do Minho are the upcoming Portuguese productions.
‘History of Violence,’ a text by Édouard Louis, directed by Thomas Ostermeier with adaptations by Florian Borchmeyer and Louis himself, is presented by the historic Schaubühne Berlin at the Main Hall of Joaquim Benite Municipal Theater.
From July 10 to 14, Lisbon’s Culturgest hosts ‘A colónia’ by Marco Martins, while on July 10, the French collective Petit Travers presents ‘S’assurer de ses propres murmures,’ a production by Julien Clément & Pierre Pollet where a juggler and drummer create a piece inspired by the first line of a poem by René Char (1907-1988).
In Almada’s Romeu Correia Forum, Cristóvão Capos reprises ‘Monóculo, Retrato de s. Von Harden,’ a text by Stéphane Ghislain Roussel, directed by Rui Neto in a Lobo Mau production.
‘El Rey que fue’ is the initial piece by Spain’s Els Joglars to be staged at the Great Stage of D. António da Costa School, under the artistic direction of Albert Boadella, who co-signs the dramaturgy with Ramón Fontserè.
Also from Spain, Xavier Bobés performs ‘El mar- Visión de unos niños que no lo han visto nunca’ at the Almadense Academy Cinema Theater.
‘Marius’ is brought by the French company Louis Brouillard, a creation by Joël Pommerat inspired by Marcel Pagnol’s play, in collaboration with Caroline Guiela Nguyen and Jean Ruimi, to be shown at the Main Hall of Joaquim Benite Municipal Theater.
Germany’s Familie Flöz returns to Almada with ‘Teatro Delusio,’ directed by Michael Vogel, a mask theater without words.
‘Zugzwang’ is showcased by the French Galactik Ensemble, a collective creation featuring five artists trained at the École Nationale des Arts du Cirque de Rosny-sous-Bois, performed on the Great Stage of D. António da Costa School.
On the penultimate and last day of the festival, the National Ballet Company presents ‘Quatro Cantos num Soneto & The Look’, while the 42nd edition concludes with Teatro Biondo Palermo’s ‘Extra Moenia,’ directed by Emma Dante at the Great Stage of D. António da Costa School.
Linked to the 500th anniversary celebrations of Camões’ birth, this edition includes ‘Camões, Camões’ Encounters at the Casa da Cerca, co-organized by the Commemorative Commission for the 500th birthday of the author of ‘Os Lusíadas’.
Additionally, the exhibition ‘Espetáculos de honra, escolhas do público’ by José Manuel Castanheira, ‘Linogravuras’ by Jorge Nesbitt, creator of the festival’s poster and program cover, and José Manuel Castanheira’s ‘Na casa dos Espelhos’ honoring actress Lia Gama, born in Fundão in 1944, are highlighted.
