Teatro de Marionetas do Porto (Portugal)

In big cities people die increasingly alone.

Reflection on death also inevitably leads to reflection on life, on being alive and on the old ritual of encountering and accepting death as part of the natural cycle.

This project aims to be a tribute to life, to the re-encounter with simplicity, to playing, to love, to the pleasure found in small everyday tasks, to remembering without repentance and to calm, but also to recovering the possibility of saying goodbye.

To look death in the eyes, serve it a hot soup and shake its hand.

^{"The most recent creation of Marionetas do Porto comes from the East. Kitsune, which means 'fox' in Japanese, challenges us to a reflection about death that is above all a praise of life and an invitation to restore rituals (...).
Each piece of the scenery, each scene plan is full of symbolism and poetry, in a fair balance, where no gesture is dispensable and all the elements are points that connect in a narrative that is told without words (...)."
-Catarina Firmo, Sinais em Linha - plataforma de crítica e reflexão sobre artes performativa}

BIO

Teatro de Marionetas do Porto was founded in 1988. The company’s theatrical practice represent extremely diverse experiences in the contemporary puppet theatre, looking to find new concepts and new ways of regarding the interpretation and the relationship with other areas of creation. The company was also dedicated to the study and revival of old forms of traditional theatre, like Teatro Dom Roberto, which has been presented more than a thousand times. Their founder and artistic director, João Paulo Seara Cardoso (1956-2010), studied theatre and puppet theatre, attended courses in the Institut National d’Éducation Populaire and Institut International de la Marionnette, in France. He worked with João Coimbra, Marcel Violette, Jim Henson and Lopez Barrantes. In 1982 he initiated the study and spreading of the Teatro Dom Roberto, Portuguese traditional puppets that had more than 1500 presentations. He published children’s books and was the author of television series for the young audiences. The group splits its activity between the programming of the Teatro do Belomonte, in Oporto, and an intense activity touring in Portugal and abroad. Presently, the TMP is engaged in a major project, the Puppet Museum of Oporto, opened in 2013 and in 2016 the company set Pólo das Marionetas/Quinta de Bonjoia where they have been working on social integration with local communities.

_{FICHA ARTÍSTICA}

_{Based on a short story by: Júlio Vanzeler Direction and scenography: Rui Queiroz de Matos, Júlio Vanzeler Puppets and illustration: Júlio Vanzeler Performers: Catarina Falcão, Micaela Soares, Vítor Gomes Costumes: Patrícia Valente Music: Pedro Cardoso Lighting design: Filipe Azevedo Production: Sofia Carvalho Graphic design and production assistance: Pedro Ramos Lighting and sound operation: Filipe Azevedo Construction: João Pedro Trindade and Rosário Matos Costume making: Carla Pereira Photography: Susana Neves Coproduction: CineTeatro Constantino Nery Company sponsored by: República Portuguesa - Ministério da Cultura | Direção-Geral das Artes}

_{www.marionetasdoporto.pt}