Porto: Cultural Agenda — November

Few sensations equal that of waiting for a show to start. The small buzz in the room, an increasing expectation that grows inside us towards the unknown. 

The cultural programming in Porto is expanding, and the calendar does not seem to be enough for all it has to offer. Here are some suggestions for what you can see in Porto until the end of November.



THEATER



Pátria [Homeland]

Teatro Carlos Alberto
By Bernardo Carvalho
Directed by Manuel Tur

When Manuel Tur challenged the Brazilian playwright Bernardo Carvalho to write an original text, the result was Pátria [Homeland]. Part 2 of Retrato de Família [Family Portrait], a cycle in which Tur has been exploring oppressive family environments, Homeland is a monologue by an isolated, deranged man, played by Pedro Almendra.


Rosas de Maio [Roses of May]

11–13 November 2022
Teatro Rivoli
Luísa Sequeira / TEP

Rosas de Maio [Roses of May] is a rhizome-like creation of a research process on Novas Cartas Portuguesas [New Portuguese Letters] (1972), written by Maria Velho da Costa, Maria Isabel Barreno and Maria Teresa Horta. “The starting point of Rosas de Maio is this seminal work, and it then dramaturgically weaves a series of new developments, thus creating a hybrid performance with several possible meanings that oscillate between documentary and performance at various times. It is a piece that sets in motion the very materiality of the archive, that crosses and rescues words and actions by women who had their speeches censored, torn up and erased throughout history by the oppressive, patriarchal regime”.


Bruscamente no Verão Passado
[Suddenly Last Summer]

17–27 November
Teatro Nacional S. João
By Tennessee Williams
Conceived and Directed by Carlos Pimenta

Suddenly Last Summer by Tennessee Williams (1958) was adapted to the screen by Joseph L. Mankiewicz in 1959, from a screenplay by Gore Vidal.

A confrontation between play and film, theatre and cinema, are the focal points of the Ensemble’s proposal and of Carlos Pimenta’s staging, which includes a new translation by Portuguese poet Ana Luísa Amaral.

“A confrontation between images: the ones of cinema, invariable and forceful, and the ones of the theatre, unstable and svelte. Who was Sebastian? What happened to him, suddenly last summer? This character, who is absent from the play’s action (but yet omnipresent, like a haunting), develops out of the contradictory views of him that are presented by Mrs. Venable (his mother) and Catharine (his cousin), while Dr. Cukrowicz (and we, the viewers, with him) tries to grasp his essence. The clash between the images imagined by each character is turbocharged by the shadows of memory and the voracity of desire. Out of the remembered light on a beach on the European coast, darkness bursts out, accompanied by a question: what is truth, in the end?”.



DANCE



Palcos Instáveis

11–12 November
Teatro Rivoli
Leo Calvino & Joana Couto Apneia

“It was just a dream.” Normality returns quickly and sanity is not at risk, just turn the other way and snuggle back into your own soft and fragrant conceptions. How many layers does a dream have? Where does one person’s dream end and another’s dream begin? Where is the border between the real and the surreal? Why ask yourself these questions? The alarm in the morning faithfully reminds me to forget. But I don’t forget, not always. And the only way out is to repeat: “it was only a dream”. It’s never just a dream. — Leo Calvino and Joana Couto



MUSIC



O Lago dos Cisnes [Swan Lake] — Bailado Clássico

25 November
21h00
Coliseu do Porto AGEAS

Overflowing with romanticism and beauty, Swan Lake is widely regarded as the most spectacular ballet in the classical dance repertoire. The choreography of this ballet requires great skill and high technical competence in the interpretation of the characters by the dancers.


Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song

16 November
21h30
Coliseu do Porto AGEAS

When one speaks of Leonard Cohen, one immediately thinks of Hallelujah. There is no more iconic and striking song. This documentary traces Cohen’s creative process and then describes the repercussion of this single in popular culture (it is one of the most used songs in films and dozens of other singers have covered it, from Jeff Buckley in 1994 to Hillary Clinton’s impersonation on SNL on the eve of the 2016 election). Produced with the consent of the singer-songwriter, the filmmakers were given access to previously unseen files that reveal how, despite being rejected by the record company, this song became a hymn to love. A film to get the whole room singing Hallelujah.


O Quebra-Nozes [The Nutcracker]

26 November
16h00, 21h00
Coliseu do Porto AGEAS

A Christmas dream with animated figures, evil creatures and an unlikely hero — the Nutcracker Prince. Filled with romance and fantasy, the Nutcracker exhorts children’s ability to dream and the authenticity of their feelings — Clara’s first love.

The Nutcracker perpetuated Tchaikovsky’s genius with the famous Opus 71, full of remarkable melodies such as the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and The Waltz of the Flowers.

Marius Petipa revealed his originality and creativity in the choreographic development of this timeless masterpiece, which remains to date one of the most performed performances ever.



EXHIBITIONS



Alice in Magical Garden

Jardim Botânico do Porto

Alice in Magical Garden is a night path filled with light experiences, such as the giant lanterns inspired by Alice of Wonderland that bring life to the Botanical Garden of Porto. It is a unique sensory experience full of light, colour and entertainment.

 The Magical Garden Ticket allows you  to visit the Hall of Biodiversity — Ciência Viva Center on the same date.



CINEMA



One Fine Morning

10 November
Cinema Trindade

With a father suffering from neurodegenerative disease, a young woman lives with her eight-year-old daughter. While struggling to secure a decent nursing home, she runs into a friend who although being in a relationship, embarks an affair.

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