Francesca Rayner
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The story of what might have been: Interrogating Romeo and Juliet under the Portuguese dictatorship Open
In 1969, Teatro Estúdio de Lisboa performed Anatomy of a Love Story, an interrogation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet for a generation politicized by their struggles against the dictatorship. This article delineates a narrative of what m…
Performing the paradox: collaboration as intervention in <i>Eis o Homem</i> Open
After the economic crisis of 2008, Portugal, like other European countries, underwent a readjustment programme based on neo-liberal principles. This programme widened the gap between rich and poor and elevated the economic over the social,…
What are words worth? Open
Crítica ao espectáculo sim sim não não. Trabalho de Maria Duarte, Sílvia Figueiredo e João Rodrigues a partir de John Berger e Susan Sontag. Interpretação: Maria Duarte e Sílvia Figueiredo. Violoncelo: Tatiana Leonor. Piano: Teresa Doutor.…
Theatre Reviews Open
In Act 5 Scene 5 of Macbeth, a startled Messenger informs Macbeth: "As I did stand my watch upon the hill / I looked toward Birnam and anon methought / The wood began to move" (5.5.32-34).Hearing this, Macbeth realizes that his sense of in…
Challenging the inevitable: Anatomy of a Suicide at the Royal Court Theatre London Open
[Extract] As the title suggests, this performance was not for the faint-hearted. In another collaboration with director Katie Mitchell following the 2015 Ophelia’s Zimmer, playwright Alice Birch has written a remarkable piece about inherit…
Disidentified national subjects and failed Europeans in Nuno Cardoso’s Portuguese Shakespeares Open
In the context of a proposed multi-speed neo-Europe where the wealthier nations are allowed to accumulate more wealth and the less wealthy nations such as Portugal are left to fend for themselves, this article looks at the staging of natio…
Marianne Novy. 2017. Shakespeare and feminist theory. Bloomsbury: London Open
[Excerpt] This volume on Shakespeare and Feminist Theory is a clear and accessible addition to the excellent Arden Shakespeare and Theory series. It is aimed on the one hand at university students of Shakespeare, or students of literature …
Challenging the Inevitable: Anatomy of a Suicide at the Royal Court Theatre London [Anatomy of a Suicide, Katie Mitchell] Open
Crítica ao espectáculo Anatomy of a Suicide. Author: Alice Birch. Director: Katie Mitchell. Set designer: Alex Eales. Costume designer: Sarah Blenkinsop. Lighting designer: James Farncombe. Composer: Paul Clark. Sound designer: Melanie Wil…
Dehierarchizing Space: Performer-Audience Collaborations in Two Portuguese Performances of Shakespeare Open
This article addresses the key role of performance space in mediating between cultural locations. It discusses two Portuguese performances of Shakespeare where audiences were invited to become part of the performance and the ways in which …
Collaborating across borders: Theatre for Integration Project in Portugal Open
Artigo sobre o projeto Collaborating across Borders da UM/Universidade de Buffalo, EUA sobre os refugiados
Book review: Shakespeare en Espãna: Bibliografia Anotada Bilingue / Shakespeare in Spain: An Annotated Bilingual Bibliography Open
[Excerpt] Recently, the University of Lisbon’s performance database was temporarily out of action while I was preparing a chapter on Portuguese performances of Shakespeare. My panic during this time made me realize just how dependent I had…