Teatro Praga (Portugal)
HAMLET SOU EU
16 and 17 May at 4.30pm (Sat, Sun)
⇨ TICKETS ONLINE Tickets: 8€
Technique: Objects Language: Portuguese Age guidance: +7 Runs: 130 min. Participatory game-show // Relaxed sessions
How can we tell children about classics of literature and drama? Teatro Praga answers that question with Hamlet Sou Eu (I Am Hamlet), a show-game with a simple rule: now I summarise it, then you summarise it, now you all tell it.
Two actors do their version of Shakespeare’s play, telling the Prince of Denmark’s story in different ways. In one of them, on top of a table, there is a briefcase from which objects jump out and transform into the play’s characters: Hamlet is an apple, Gertrude a pack of dental floss, Claudius a jar of moisturising cream and Ophelia an effervescent tablet.
After becoming familiar with the plot, the children are invited to step onto the stage and present their version of it. During a process of collective ad-libbing that comprises inflatable castles, balloons, streamers, props, confetti, wigs and toy swords, each small group has in each day the opportunity to create their own show, their own Hamlet: To dance or not to dance… that is not the question…
In this performance, the stage is transformed into a territory of conquest: 30 participants leave the audience to step onto the stage, taking center stage in one of history’s greatest tragedies. While the rest of the audience witnesses this unrepeatable encounter, those on stage, child or adult alike, become the body and voice of a scenic revolution. Who will be the first to step up?
BIO
Teatro Praga is an artistic collective founded in 1995 and based at Rua das Gaivotas in Lisbon. It defines itself as a group or federation of artists that typically answers the question of 'who they are' by reframing the question itself. The collective's members take on various roles in the creation of their shows, emphasizing experimentation, constant transformation, and the unrepeatable nature of the theatrical act. Their artistic practice challenges traditional theater structures, rejecting fixed answers and encouraging maximum spectator responsibility.
Teatro Praga regularly collaborates with some of Portugal's most prestigious cultural institutions and has performed at festivals and theaters across several European countries (Italy, UK, Spain, Germany, France, Belgium, Hungary, Slovenia, Estonia, Denmark, and Poland), as well as in Israel, China, Brazil, and Cape Verde.
Their artistic creation intersects theater, dance, music, visual arts, and video, exploring cultural critique, humor, and a permanent reinvention of the idea of representation, in a trajectory marked by creative freedom and a rejection of artistic conformity.
Beyond theatrical creation, Teatro Praga manages Rua das Gaivotas 6, a space open to the neighborhood and the city, intended as a venue for performances, circulation, residencies, and readings. Rua das Gaivotas 6 hosts performing arts, visual arts, conferences, literature, cinema, and workshops.
CREDITS
Creation: Cláudia Jardim, Diogo Bento, Pedro Penim Performers: Cláudia Jardim, Diogo Bento Collaboration: Patrícia da Silva Dramaturgy support: Maria João Rocha Afonso Executive production: Rita Pessoa Communication: Inês Lampreia General production: Teresa Miguel Photography: Alípio Padilha, João Cruz Coproduction: Maria Matos Teatro Municipal Company sponsored by: República Portuguesa - Cultura, Juventude e Desporto / Direção-Geral das Artes