© Reprodução Facebook/FITEI – Festival Internacional de Teatro de Expressão Ibérica
The 48th edition of FITEI, announced today, is themed “Specters, Eros, and Sacrifices,” featuring six national premieres and four world premieres.
From May 14 to 25, artists will perform across five cities, exploring the “real and imaginary Atlantic triangle,” as described by FITEI’s artistic director, Gonçalo Amorim. This year’s edition focuses on “new dramaturgies and scenic languages by authors.”
On May 14, the Teatro Carlos Alberto in Porto will host the opening show “Vampyr,” the third part of a trilogy by Manuela Infante, described as a “true pseudo-documentary about stubborn creatures that refuse to obey the nature/culture division mandate.”
On the same day, “Sexo e Morte: Entre Estados Libidinais e Limiares,” by Aura, will be staged at the Teatro Municipal Constantino Nery in Matosinhos. The performance consists of sessions spaced 30 minutes apart and explores issues related to pleasure and death, bondage culture, and ritualistic funerals.
Rui Paixão will bring “Furo Lento,” an “eco-fiction” offering a non-optimistic view of the future, to Teatro Campo Alegre in Porto on May 15 and 18. Meanwhile, the tragic figure of Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina,” directed by Carme Portaceli, will take the stage on May 15 at Teatro Nacional São João (TNSJ) in Porto.
“A Memória do Aqueduto,” a collaboration between Carlos Costa and Jorge Palinhos, will be presented in the Amial area of Porto at a decommissioned water reservoir on May 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, and 21.
Sara Barros Leitão from the Cassandra structure will perform “Monologue of a Woman Named Maria with Her Mistress” at the Gaia Auditorium on May 17 and 18.
On May 17, the Rivoli Theatre in Porto will host the national premiere of “Kill Me,” a FITEI co-production and the “long-awaited continuation” of “Love Me” and “Fuck Me” by Marina Otero.
“Úlulu,” which means placenta in Forro from São Tomé, by Raquel Lima, will bring the traditional São Tomé ritual of planting the úlulu with the umbilical cord to Rivoli on May 17 and 18.
Matosinhos’ Teatro Constantino Nery will present “Cadernos de” by Raquel S. on May 17 and 18, a show where the creator blends fiction and reality, inviting the audience to be interlocutors.
The second week of FITEI kicks off with Alberto Cortés’s “Analphabet,” an invented myth about a “romantic spirit manifesting in natural environments and caught in the flesh’s wound,” at the Rivoli on May 21 and 22.
The TNSJ will feature “The Seagull” by Chekhov, directed by Guillermo Cacace, on May 22 and 23, with a new performance on May 25 in Viana do Castelo at Sá de Miranda Theatre.
“Última Esperança” by the Colectivo Cuerpo Sur will be staged at Teatro Campo Alegre on May 22 and at Cineteatro João Verde in Monção on May 24, marking FITEI’s first visit there.
Collective Amanda will present “Cultura de Ferro” in Matosinhos and Porto, a “statement” exposing “the inherent difficulties of putting on a show.”
The Rivoli will also present “Morrer pelos Passarinhos,” a collaboration between Henrique Vieira and Lígia Soares, on May 22 and 23.
On May 23, “Fissura” by Pedro Vilela and Alexandre Dal Farra will be performed in Viana do Castelo at Sá de Miranda Municipal Theatre.
On May 24 and 25, “Popular” by Sara Inês Gigante will close the 48th FITEI at Teatro Campo Alegre.
Besides these 16 performances, FITEI will include artistic residencies, concerts, exhibitions, talks, books, parties, exercises, and shows involving drama schools from Porto, as well as training activities and meetings for programmers.
