Stages of the week: tumulus, myths, Outsiders and other stories | P2

One tumulus to give life to death

Thirteen dancing and singing bodies interact with a scenic device in the form of a mound that symbolizes a mausoleum. It is there that a community meets and moves to celebrate the absent. There, “the place of the dead and death becomes that of life and the living”, explains the synopsis, somewhere “between the singular and the collective, materiality and eternity”.

It is a tumulus which is born from the joining of choreographer François Chaignaud and Geoffroy Jourdain, founder and artistic director of the ensemble Les Cris de Paris. It is based, therefore, on a combination of dance and music (something that Chaignaud has explored a lot in his journey) translated into an “endless procession mixed with the power of polyphonic singing”.

Outsiders of genders

Films outside the “Hollywood” mainstream will once again take place at Outsiders, after a successful premiere edition in 2021. The American independent film cycle has prepared a selection of ten films, all of which are showing in Portugal for applause at international festivals.

This time, the focus turns to an exploration of films of various genres, in order to give visibility to those who appropriate the classic codes and who, in a certain way, update them. Can be one western as In a Valley of Violenceby Ti West, the so-called “remarriage comedy” that is The Loversby Azazel Jacobs (in the opening session) or the war film(s) foxholeby Jack Fessenden (director who will be present at the session and will give a masterclass).

Outsiders is an initiative of FLAD – Luso-American Foundation for Development, with Carlos Nogueira as programmer.

Orpheus in contrapositions

Somewhere between dance, electronic music and an operatic sense, with a good dose of experimental nature and the echoes of “various Orphic characters”, a debut Orpheus which offers an unorthodox version of the myth in which the mortal poet-musician convinces the gods to let him descend into hell to rescue his beloved from death.

Objective: to reflect on “the dichotomy between the tangible and the intangible, the present and the absent, the individual and the collective, exploring new aesthetic contrasts and body language”, announces the room sheet.

Taken to the stage by the Order of the O, it has the signature of Hélia Correia in the text and that of Pedro Ramos artistic direction, in the choreography and in the scenic space. The interpretation is in charge of Tiago Barbosa, Sara Belo, Vítor Alves da Silva, Mara Morgado, Helena Vasconcelos, Fern Katz and Miguel Sobral Curado.

new muses by calliope

On International Women’s Day, a concert named after Orfeu’s mother debuts. Calliope was one of the nine muses. And there are nine artists who unite talents in this musical celebration of female creation. They contribute with original songs that, in the diversity of musical registers and the issues they address, intend to be inspiring in themselves.

They are A Garota Não, Aline Frazão, Ana Bacalhau, Elisa Rodrigues, Joana Alegre, Joana Espadinha and Joana Machado, Marta Hugon (the project’s artistic director) and, on the disc released in parallel, also Luísa Sobral. The musical direction is by the pianist Luís Figueiredo, who is part of the formation that accompanies them in the calliope live.

Osório with repertoire secrets

With a long career as a journalist and writer, Luís Osório is an excellent storyteller – for some time now, also on stage. The book secret files, which launched in 2021 with the subtitle of Untold stories of Portuguese politics and society – “hidden” episodes from the life of Álvaro Cunhal, Mário Soares, Saramago, Amália and many others – got a live version.

Now those files (and others not in the book) are opened throughout a show. It is full of well-known figures, but not only. It also reports exploits of common people, which can be equally or more impressive and heroic. They could come from the itinerant librarian, the last leper in Rovisco Pais or Osório’s own family.

The monologue is interrupted when the guests enter the scene – a list featuring Graça Freitas, Tony Carreira, Mário Centeno, Pedro Abrunhosa, Pinto da Costa and others to be revealed.