The New Company presents the piece ‘Boudoir – Sete Diálogos Libertines’, a staging of Martim Pedroso from ‘A Philosophy in the Alcove’, in the Studio Room of the Trindade Theater in Lisbon.
The spectacle is presented as a way to “celebrate the freedom of the body and of thought in contemporary society“, reflecting the sexuality against the conservatism and Catholic morality of the text of Marquess of Sade, published in 1795.
For people over 18, the piece adapts the text of Sade who was “always in the drawer” told Martim Pedroso the actor and director when he made his debut in Oporto last October.
In a “very complex” book, mainly for a visual work of detail that describes sexual contacts between the characters, the hybrid between the novel and the philosophical side, in addition to almost theatrical dialogues, the sexual issue is raised “against taboos” a discourse on freedom at various levels. ”
“Be it in the body, freedom of expression or freedom of sexual choice even tastes within sex, and it appeals to diversity at all levels in society, which is highly pioneering for the time, where one lived in the monarchy”, he reflected.
The “conviction that the Catholic religion was the cause of much repression and hypocrisy“, linked to the power installed, is well apparent in the work, which is still very current “because of all these frightening turns for a fascist right.”
Martim Pedroso recalled the election of Jair Bolsonaro as president of Brazil as an issue that transformed the “Dialogues” almost into an anti-fascist campaign because he is never free to live with it.
“This text, to me, is almost an ‘ex-libris’ of this will to continue to make and continue to have a voice, and somehow fight against oppression and everything that stops us from continuing to make art,” he added.
In addition to sexual liberation and overcoming societal barriers to freedom, “Philosophy in the Alcove” also reflects on the feminist question “and the condition of women.”
Between sexual fantasies and a questioning of the libertine limits before the French aristocracy, Sade “proposes a new world order going to the limit of the libertine,” it refers the presentation of the spectacle, from a family of libertines that compose the personages of the play.
The more practical work of staging the work also reflects the “very interesting question of modesty, because we all have modesty and are shaped by an idea of what is acceptable or not“, and for the actors part of “much availability“, both physical and intellectual, as well as a search for self-knowledge.
In relation to the public, the challenge is “to make the public think and excite the brain, but also the sex, and look for this more physical side,” said the director.
They interpret Flávia Gusmão, João Gaspar, João Telmo, Maria João Abreu, Margarida Bakker, Martim Pedroso, Pedro Monteiro and Sofia Soares Ribeiro.
The scenery is Rueffa, the costumes of David Ferreira and João Telmo and the music of Carlos Morgado.
The play will be on display in the Studio Room of the Trinity until March 10, with performances from Wednesday to Saturday at 9:30 p.m., and on Sundays at 5 p.m.
