Tiago Rodrigues

Sopro

Archive 2020
Theatre
1/5

Directed and written by Tiago Rodrigues
With Beatriz Brás, Cristina Vidal, Isabel Abreu, Marco Mendonça, Romeu Costa, Sara Barros, LeitãoSet and lighting design, Thomas Walgrave
Scenography and lights, Thomas Walgrave
Costumes, Aldina Jesus
Sound, Pedro Costa
Assistant director, Catarina Rôlo Salgueiro
Operation Lights, Daniel Varela
Translation, Thomas Resendes
Surtitles, Rita Mendes
Executive Production, Rita Forjaz
Production Assistant, Joana Costa Santos
A Teatro Nacional D. Maria II (Lisbon) production
A coproduction by Extra-pôle arts de la scène – Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur ; Festival d’Avignon ; Théâtre de la Bastille (Paris) ; La Criée, Théâtre National de Marseille ; Le Parvis Scène nationale Tarbes Pyrénées ; Terres de Paroles (Rouen) ; Théâtre Garonne – scène européenne (Toulouse) ; and Teatro Viriato (Viseu)
With support from Onda
First performed on 7 July 2017 at the Festival d’Avignon

The set is a simple one: curtains, stage floor, and a few chairs. They are the instantly recognizable, primary elements of theatrical performance. Sopro (which means “breath” in Portuguese) brings us the possibility of a theatre of which nothing remains, but which the memories of a theatre prompter can breathe new life into.

Using anecdotes collected from Cristina Vidal, prompter for the last 39 years at Lisbon’s Teatro Nacional D.Maria II, of which he is not just artistic director but also staff director, Tiago Rodrigues has devised a show orientated towards past and future alike. The show interweaves extracts from classical works (by Racine, Chekhov or Sophocles) with moments taken from backstage life. A homage to a rapidly-disappearing profession, Sopro also brings into the limelight theatre’s unseen individuals, whether hidden behind the actors or hidden backstage. Beyond the texts themselves, the piece is driven by a desire to represent the invisible, this breath or outpouring that can neither be caught nor controlled, not completely anyway, but which, in spiritual and physical terms, keeps us alive.

In the same place

Théâtre de la Ville – Les Abbesses
septembersept 12 – 26
Espace 1789, scène conventionnée danse – Saint-Ouen
octoberoct 8 – 9
Théâtre Cinéma de Choisy-le-Roi – Scène conventionnée d’intérêt national art et création pour la diversité linguistique
octoberoct 11
Points communs – Théâtre 95
decemberdec 18 – 20

Mohamed El Khatib
La vie secrète des vieux

Theatre
Buy tickets

Mohamed El Khatib furthers his passion for documentary theatre by tackling a subject that he brings from out of the shadows, namely that of eroticism and the love lives of “oldies”. Put together in a daring yet tender way, his new piece explores this theme from the perspective of desire, thereby going against the usual connotations associated with old age. 

Chaillot – Théâtre national de la Danse
septembersept 26 – 29
Malakoff Scène nationale – Théâtre 71
novembernov 7

Nina Laisné, Néstor 'Pola' Pastorive
Como una baguala oscura

Dance
Buy tickets

In Como una baguala oscura, Nina Laisné teams up with dancer and choreographer Néstor 'Pola' Pastorive in this musical and danced portrait of Argentinian pianist Hilda Herrera. With its exploration of the roots of popular and folk music, she brings us a lively show with the hallmark of freedom stamped firmly upon it.

Points communs – Théâtre des Louvrais
novembernov 14 – 16
Scène nationale de l'Essonne – Théâtre de l’Agora
novembernov 19 – 20
MC93 – Maison de la Culture de Seine-Saint-Denis
novembernov 29 - december – dec 29
La Merise
decemberdec 12 – 14
La Ferme du Buisson, Scène nationale – cinéma – centre d’art contemporain
decemberdec 18 – 19

Joël Pommerat
Marius

Theatre
Buy tickets

Inspired by the work of Marcel Pagnol, this show explores the theme of escape. Some of the actors had their first experience of theatre at the Maison centrale d'Arles prison. Marius provides audiences with a unique opportunity to discover a little-known but crucial dimension of Joël Pommerat's art.

Théâtre du Rond-Point
octoberoct 15 – 19
Espace 1789, scène conventionnée danse – Saint-Ouen
decemberdec 19 – 20

Talents Adami Theater, Mohamed El Khatib
Stand-up

Theatre
Buy tickets

What will it be this time: thunderous applause or icy silence? In Mohamed El Khatib's opinion, the inherently risky nature of stand-up comedy elevates it to a theatrical art in its own right. A framework for expression of all kinds, it clears the path for transgressive laughter, in a cathartic space which brings us all together.