With a premiere scheduled for the 10th of May, at Teatro Meridional, a play staged by Cássio Scapin, with performances by Luísa Ortigoso and Beto Coville on stage. A historical drama to see in a very short season in Lisbon.
A mother and a son. She was queen and he, who was not born to be king – was the second child. The firstborn died. Now, with time, age, and life, the queen’s mother’s head remembers only what keeps her alive. And this son king blooms grows and cuts little by little the royal cord that kept him in the background, assuming his post and building a reign that left marks on the two continents where he was sovereign.
Taking the life of Dona Maria I and her son Don João VI as a starting point, both monarchs of Portugal and, consequently, of colonial Brazil, the show is an allegory about the mother/child relationship permeated by issues such as hierarchy, power, state, nation, and patriarchy. The two actors assume the historical characters, live their conflicts, and lead us to the fundamental point: to meet the humanity existing in those characters beyond the symbolic function they represent in their posts. That is why we highlight the relationship between mother and child in which, in a way, we are all equal. Nobles and commoners, ancients, and contemporaries.
The biographical and historical aspects dealt with in the show lead us down a path in which narration is necessarily present. All resources used will support the work of the actors, a fundamental point of this work.
“We propose a critical reflection of the issues raised by the text (by Cássio Junqueira), which leads us to think and translate the understanding of the characters, with a contemporary look and understanding, discovering the human hidden by the historical figure.” Explains Cássio Scapin, the director.
On stage from the 10th to the 14th of May at the Teatro Meridional in Lisbon. With Luísa Ortigoso as Dona Maria – Mother and Beto Coville as Don João VI – son.
Technical sheet:
Text: Cássio Junqueira
Directed by: Cássio Scapin
Scenography: Eurico Lopes
Costume Design: Fábio Namatame
Music: Davide Zaccaria
Light design: Pedro Santos
Assistant Directed by: Inês Oneto
Production: Free Theater
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