In 2024, around 60 immigrants, mainly from Bangladesh, were forced to stand against a wall with their hands on their heads for two hours. Images of the incident, which took place on Rua do Benformoso in Lisbon, went viral and sparked public debate about the legitimacy of the action and the exposure of people with no criminal record.
At around the same time, Marco Martins was considering adapting Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People, which focuses on the conflict between the individual and the collective. The play proposed by Marco Martins and presented in 2025 is based on the testimonies and biographies of these immigrants, who are now involved in the cast.
On the afternoon of 13 December, the director joins the conversation with Gisela Casimiro as part of the Contexto cycle.
By: Marco Martins / Direction and dramaturgy: Marco Martins / Text by: Marco Martins, based on testimonies from the entire cast and on research by Joana Pereira Bastos and Raquel Moleiro and on works by Henrik Ibsen, Thomas Ostermeier, Florian Borchmeyer, Elias Canetti, Georges Didi-Huberman, Roger Caillois, Hannah Arendt, Cesare Pavese, Hein De Haas, Claire Touzard, Adília Lopes, Robert Peckham, Marguerite Duras and Pier Paolo Pasolini / With: Amin Nurul, Dil Bahadur Ale, Janit Fernandes, Kamal Chowdhury, Kamal Sarder, Niraj Khadka, Rajib Al Mamun, Sabera Parvin, Sharker Nasrin, Shohel Rana and Rita Cabaço and Rodrigo Tomás / Vocal composition and choir with the cast: Rabih Beaini / Original music and sound composition by: Rabih Beaini / Original music by: João Pimenta Gomes / Assistant directing and dramaturgy support: Rita Quelhas / Assistant directing support: Alexandra Petrovskaya / Lighting design: Nuno Meira / Set design: Isabel Cordovil and João Romão (xxxi.studio) / Set construction: Artworks / Sound design: Vitor Santos / Technical direction: Pedro Moreira / Movement: Lua Carreira, Maria Fonseca / Movement workshop: Hugo Marmelada / Sound workshop: João Pimenta Gomes / Text workshop: Matilde C. / Interview transcription: Gabriela Dias / Cast research: José Pires / Photography: André Príncipe and Beatriz Banha / Publication texts: Bárbara Reis, Joana Pereira Bastos, Marco Martins, Matilde C. and Raquel Moleiro / Publication design: Atelier Pedro Falcão / Translation: Joana Frazão / Arena administration: Marta Delgado Martins / Production management and direction: Sérgio Azevedo / Executive production: Hugo Alves Caroça / This production was developed with the support of: Prospero New Platform co-funded by the: Creative Europe Programme of the European Union / Main co-production: CCB / Co-production: Teatro Municipal Do Porto, Theatro Circo | Braga 25 – Portuguese Capital of Culture, Théâtre De Liège – Théâtre D’Europe / Support: Portuguese Republic – Culture, Youth, and Sports | DGartes – Directorate-General for the Arts, Goethe-Institut Portugal, Artworks and PreZero / Acknowledgements: Aditya Saxena, Abdul Wahid Khalizad, Ashraf Emdi Uddin, Fahima Begum, Farhana Akter, Farid Ahmed Patwari, Francisca Neves, Komal Shahazdi, Mazumder Mohamed, Mizan Mizan, Mohamed Fakhrul, Nelson Gomes (Filho Único), Pemba Sherpa, Rasel, Renovar A Mouraria, Sabee Shrestha, Sandip Busal, Saurav Baishnab, Zakiur Rahman, Fundação Arpad Szenes-Vieira Da Silva, Museu Nacional Do Teatro E Da Dança / Media partner: Antena 1
We are preparing a year-long celebration of national artistic creation, in connection with Europe and with the artists and cultural agents from Braga.
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