PORTUGUESE TABLE SERIES
A Night of Mickaël de Oliveira.
On May 13, 2019, our signature reading series was transformed into a special evening consisting of six different 5-10 minute readings from Mickaël’s various works, starting with his first full length play Boris Yeltsin and ending with his most recent, Socrates Must Die: Episode 2 - The Life of John Smith. Saudade Theatre was proud to present some of these works translated to English for the first time exclusively for this event.
Thank you to all of the actors and collaborators, and to those who came to mingle with fellow theatre lovers and of course, discuss and celebrate Mickaël’s work. Donations were suggested at this free event.
Playwright: Mickaël de Oliveira
Mickaël de Oliveira’s "Boris Yeltsin", translated from Portuguese by dramaturg Maria Inês Marques, is a funny and unsettling take on the story of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra and their son Orestes - the main figures in Aeschylus’ play "Agamemnon".
Picture: World Premiere of Mickaël Oliveira’s ‘Boris Yeltsin’ directed by Nuno M. Cardoso at Teatro Municipal São Luiz in Lisbon, Portugal.
BORIS YELTSIN
Playwright: Mickaël de Oliveira
Translated from Portuguese by dramaturg Maria Inês Marques, "Oslo" is about an obsessive Mother and her daughter, whose state is enigmatic. Both live in a house, far from the city, and are visited by several people: a Friend of the family and four Men, all with different intentions. Through everyone’s desperate need to please the Mother, we are confronted with a story about what life would feel like if “loss” never really took part.
Picture: World Premiere of Mickaël Oliveira’s ‘Oslo’ directed by Nuno M. Cardoso at Teatro Municipal São Luiz in Lisbon, Portugal.
OSLO: Or Fuck Them All and Everything Will Be Wonderful
Playwright: Mickaël de Oliveira
"The Constitution", translated from Portuguese by dramaturg Maria Inês Marques, tells the story of four actors, who are invited by the government to write a new Constitution during troublesome political times. They are sequestered from society and given just six days to complete their mission. This play remains special for us for everything it has given us for the last three years.
Picture: West Coast Premiere of Mickaël de Oliveira's ’The Constitution’ directed by Filipe Valle Costa for Saudade Theatre.
THE CONSTITUTION
Playwright: Mickaël de Oliveira
Also translated by Maria Inês Marques, "The Death of Socrates" by Mickaël de Oliveira tells the story of the last three days of Socrates in prison, during the city’s festivity period that forbade any capital punishment to be carried out. Socrates’ friends try to persuade him not to die. Nevertheless, the philosopher stays true to his conviction that death is preferable to life. After much discussion, his friends admit that they are themselves convinced that dying is the best solution, presenting Socrates with the utopia of a free world and a plan to reach it: to create a terrorist group/academy that will somehow manage to forever preserve freedom.
Picture: World Premiere of Mickaël de Oliveira’s ‘The Death of Socrates’ directed by Mickaël himself at TAGV in Coimbra, Portugal.
SOCRATES MUST DIE - Episode 1: The Death of Socrates
Playwright: Mickaël de Oliveira
Oliveira’s "The Life of John Smith" is the 2nd episode of "Socrates Must Die", translated by Maria Inês Marques. In this episode, Paulo, Pedro, Raquel, Ana and Socrates (reincarnated as John Smith) wake up from a long sleep in a Museum of Natural History. They are awakened by three members of the Academy: That One, That Other One and Yet Another One. These are now the people in charge of presenting them with the world that emerged from the utopia drawn in the first episode: a community defined by freedom and the supremacy of the soul in relationship to the body.
Picture: World Premiere of Mickaël de Oliveira’s ‘The Life of John Smith’ directed by Mickaël himself at Teatro Municipal São Luiz in Lisbon, Portugal.
SOCRATES MUST DIE - Episode 2: The Life of John Smith
