Brasília to host international theater festival

One of Brazil’s top five performing arts festival, the Cena Contemporânea – International Theater Festival of Brasília is reaching its 19th edition this year. From August 21 to September 2, 29 performances, among which international, Brazilian, and local spectacles, will be displayed throughout its bustling 13-day program, occupying all main theaters in the Brazilian capital, with attractions for audiences of all ages.

At the opening night, on August 21, the Cena Contemporânea is showing Instabilidade perpétua, a spectacle featuring the stage debut of Rio-born singer and actress Soraya Ravenle. In the enactment, the main character takes part in short stories and situations from the eponymous book by São Paulo poet Juliano Pessanha. The show brings together drama, music, and dance.

This year’s program reaffirms the free expression of thought as a natural and fundamental human value. In the words of curator Alaôr Rosa, the festival aims to “reiterate the commitment to the protection of the rights and liberties of both the individual and minorities, allowing for the discussion of such key topics as violence, prejudice, inequality, and religious fanaticism.”

This year’s program reaffirms the free expression of thought as a natural and fundamental human value - ManuelGVicente

The Cena Contemporânea will occupy all main stages in the Federal District, with six international performances from Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and Spain. Fourteen productions are also to be staged from the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro, Pernambuco, Rio Grande do Sul, São Paulo, Ceará, Bahia, Amazonas, and Paraná—plus nine spectacles from the Federal District.

Reflections and dreams

The reflections provoked by the performances should deal with democracy, equal rights, tolerance, violence, pedophilia, depression, and prejudice. The stage will be set for the debate of crucial issues in today’s world—from the world of dreams and desire to the territory of courage and enlightenment.

Also to be approached are topics like the boundaries of democracy, as in the Mexican Tijuana, the result of a study on immigrants living on the US–Mexico border; Chile’s Casco Azul, about the controversy surrounding the intervention of UN peace forces; and the Shakespeare-inspired Dinamarca, a Pernambuco production on alienation and the Nordic concept of hygge, usually translated as coziness.

The right to expression, conservatism, homophobia, religious fanaticism, and sexual abuse and violence will also be brought under the limelight in shows like Lo único que necesita una gran actriz, from Mexico, and the Brazilians Tom na Fazenda, Lili Marlene, Ícaro, Domínio Público, and Tartufo-ME. There is also space for dreaming, as is the case with Alícia después de Alícia, from Spain, a free adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s classic, and the Brazilian spectacles Buda, on the life of Siddhartha Gautama, and Salve, Malala!, about the life of the Pakistani Novel Peace Prize winner and activist.

The reflections provoked by the performances should deal with democracy, equal rights, tolerance, violence, pedophilia, depression, and prejudice - CENA CONTEMPORÂNEA 2018

Workshops

In addition to the comprehensive range of shows, the Cena Contemporânea will hold workshops and talks with artists, as well as the so-called Encontros do Cena, with curators from renowned festivals from Poland, Iran, Argentina, Spain, Chile, and France, not to mention curators from the Núcleo de Festivais Internacionais de Artes Cênicas do Brasil.

The Cena Contemporânea – International Theater Festival of Brasília is supported by the embassies of Spain, France, and Mexico, as well as the Instituto Cervantes (Spain), the Alliance Française (France), and the Instituto Nacional del Teatro (Argentina).