Cennarium Backstage Issue 3 - Promenade Festival Special Edition | Page 16

Monday, September 18th - Theater
ROOM 1 ROOM 2 ROOM 1 ROOM 2
Romeo and Juliet A Piece of Plastic Tomorrow’s Circus
World Festival CirkAfrika
This 1992 production of William Shakespeare’s
classic story of a forbidden, star-crossed love affair
between two young people from rival families put
a then-fledgling troupe, Grupo Galpão (“Group
Shed”), on the map. A quarter-century later, the
award-winning company has never looked back.
Adapted by director Gabriel Villela as a
reflection of Brazilian popular culture (in particular
the state of Minas Gerais), Romeo and Juliet
is staged in the tradition of Harlequin street
theater, and it is filled with humorous touches
and language inspired by the countryside.
Regarded by critics as the most striking rendition
of Shakespeare’s play in Brazil’s contemporary
theater, the play was performed some 250 times
in 10 different countries, including when Grupo
Galpão received the distinctive honor of being the
first Brazilian troupe to be invited to present a run
at the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London.
Romeo and Juliet is, of course, both a timeless
romance and a timely tragedy—perhaps that’s
the reason Villela unfolds it around an indelible
red station wagon. The production stars such
Brazilian theatrical staples as Antonio Edson,
Beto Franco, Eduardo Moreira, Fernanda Vianna,
Inês Peixoto, Júlio Maciel, Lydia Del Picchia,
Paulo André, Rodolfo Vaz and Teuda Bar.
Photo by Glenio Campregher
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Tuesday, September 19th - Circus
cennarium.com/promenade/
Comedy or drama? This unique play by
German playwright Marius von Mayenburg,
directed by Luciano Cáceres, introduces us
to a perfect, fair and flawless middle-class
family that conceals its fears, hate, frustrations,
aggressiveness, pain, conflicts and misery. A
glance at the decadence and violence of 21st
century society. The mother, Ulrike, is a beautiful,
measured and formal woman, who can suddenly
lose her temper and become very aggressive
towards her son Vincent – who always has a
camera in his hands, filming everything – and
particularly with her husband, Miguel, a very
simple doctor with aspirations of going to
Africa to work for Doctors without Borders. The
seemingly normal and perfect world in which
they live is shattered after the arrival of Jessica,
the new house worker. Serge Haulupa completes
the criticism of society, the breakdown of values
and the disintegration of a seemingly stable
world, playing an artist and Ulrike’s boss, who
thinks that “everything is art”, which means
that he can transgress all social considerations
and question all theories of the social system.
You’re on a quest to discover who will be
the next generation of great circus performers?
Well, you can stop your sleuthing right now.
Watch any moment from this annual festival
and you’ll have your answer instantly.
Since it was created in 1977, The Tomorrow's
Circus World Festival has become the premier
talent showcase for young circus artists from
around the world. It is often the first time that
a circus artist is demonstrating their specialty
or skill professionally, and therefore the chance
to be seen in a juried environment (everyone
wants a gold medal) is critical and thrilling.
Under the big top of the Cirque Phénix in
Paris, the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain is
arguably the biggest actually circus in the world.
Think about it this way: Over 40 years, more than
1,000 acts have appeared, spearheading the scale
of innovation of this sacred art form. Not one
circus discipline here that hasn’t been reinvented.
Seeing, of course, is believing, so commit
these names to memory: Blues Brothers, Trio
Sisters, Robert Muraine, Bert et Fred, Angelica
Bongiovonni, Lewie West, Sangles Aeriennes,
Ba Jianguo, Les Starbugs, Duo Xy, Eric Bates,
Papin Khachatryan, Jonglissimo, Sarah et
Guilhem, Antoine Terrieux, Zinzi et Evertjan,
Trio Anneaux and Camélia (performing the
dazzling Le Boustrophédon). You’ll want your
friends to know that you discovered them first.
José, an absent-minded pilot, crash lands
his plane in some unknown place. After he is
confronted by some seemingly hostile elements,
he learns that he is in Africa—and in CirkAfrika,
the audience must discover, with José, whether
he is really in danger or whether assumptions are
being made based on prejudice and cliché. No, this
may not sound like traditional circus performance,
and CirkAfrika is far from a traditional circus.
What it will do, however, it catapults you on a
whirlwind that thwarts the trap of prejudice and
celebrates the transcendent beauty of folklore.
Presented by a troupe of 50 artists who are,
indeed, from Africa—including South Africa,
Tanzania, Ghana, the Congo and Guinea—each act
is rooted in a core truth, whether demonstrated
through excellent acrobatics, juggling, clowning,
or, a s in one highlight, a contortionist dressed
as a frog. Real African wildlife is also given a
spotlight in a parade featuring the performers
in costumes as flexible as their bodies, each
sculpted in rubber by a Tanzanian artist. You
may also be moved to emotion by the eight-
member orchestra covering great African songs,
or by the choreographic elements, such as South
African gumboots and traditional Zulu dance.
Once José’s fears are dispelled, he decides
to approach the indigenous people who, in
turn, also set aside their reservations about
Western culture to build understanding and
tolerance. Who is lucky enough to participate in
this voyage of discovery? That’s right: we are.
Photo by MT Cardoso
#streamthearts #streamarts
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