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Superficially at least the performing arts in Lisbon are booming. There is an excellent range of theatre venues from the classical splendour of the Teatro São Carlos to troupes of kids enacting credible experimental theatre from shanty town suburbs to the grounds of inner city mental hospitals. Only Portuguese classics – notably the productions of 15th- century dramatist Gil Vicente – escaped the brutal censorship of the Salazar regime. Portugal’s answer to Shakespeare, Vicente is the country’s most important playwright and his work is still widely performed. When the dictatorship was swept away in 1974 new companies began to spring up across the city including A Barraca – a nod to Lorca’s travelling troupe, see below. When economic stagnation set in during the 1980s making productions for commercial gain alone was no longer a consideration, theatre entered the realm of pure experimentation. For more information on the performing arts in Lisbon, see gac7.tripod.com/gac/id7 (Portuguese). A Barracca, Teatro Cinearte, Largo de Santos, 2, T 21 396 53 60, barraca@clix.pt Established in 1976, this dynamic group won the UNESCO International Prize for Promotion of the Arts in 1992 for their play O Pronto de Maria Parda by Gil Vicente. With an eclectic and vibrant programme it remains true to its founding philosophy of ‘art for all’. O Bando, Vale de Bariss, Caixa Postal, 4117, T 21 233 68 50/9, http://www.obando.pt The epitome of experimental contemporary Portuguese theatre. Founded in 1974 by veteran Portuguese director João Brites, the group upped sticks in 2000 and moved to the village of Palmela, some 50 km southeast of Lisbon. From a futuristic high tech scaffold clasped to the rugged hillside the group performs an experimental and traditional programme to a hinterland audience. Teatro da Cornucopia, Rua Tenente Raul Cascais, 1A, 1250, T 21 396 15 15, http://www.teatrocornucopia.com Established in 1973 by Jorge Melo as a nomadic pre-revolutionary theatre group, funded from the Gulbenkian Foundation, performances span everything from Gil Vicente to Shakespeare and an increasingly more radical repertoire including Gertrude Stein and Edward Bond. Teatro Nacional Dona Maria II, Rossio, T 21 325 08 00, http://www.clubdiapason.org Lisbon’s most venerable theatre was built in 1843. Despite surviving the 1968 earthquake, the building was detroyed by fire and following a 14-year restoration project, it reopened in 1978. Criticism has raged for years over its rehashed and rather staid classical programme. Teatro da Trindade, Largo da Trindade, 7, T 21 342 0000. Tickets e6-12. Built in the middle of the 19th century, the cosmopolitan Teatro de Trindade was at the apex of Lisbon’s cultural scene. Eça de Queiroz made several references to the theatre in his novels. The lavish exterior was designed in 1967 by Maria José Salavisa, one of Lisbon’s leading artists. This is one of the best venues in the city for experimental theatre productions.
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