Once again, PoNTI takes us on the adventure of
inviting to Oporto more than two dozen of the best projects produced on the international
stage. Without defining limits, due to the unique nature of each project, a fair number of
significant influences on contemporary theatrical production will be meeting here. The
return of the text and its magical density; the successively broader and deeper
exploration of stage technology; the diffusion of the concept of authorship providing a
greater purity of each language on stage; the cross-fertilisation of disciplines and
supports...
From among the notable personalities visiting us, we
could highlight Peter Stein and Bob Wilson, living icons of contemporary theatre.
Alternatively, we might chose to focus on those who have worked closely with us in recent
years: Eimuntas Nekrosius, Jérôme Deschamps, Giorgio Barberio Corsetti, Fabio Iaquone,
Jeff Cohen, Luís Madureira, António Lagarto. We could also spotlight creators who we are
discovering for the first time: Max Stafford-Clark, Ivo van Hove, Johan Simmons, Raul
Cortez, Irina Dalle...
Five premieres make up the Portuguese side of the
programme. Companhia Paulo Ribeiro, Companhia Clara Andermatt, Teatro Meridional, Ensemble
and TNSJ will produce five productions that highlight a group of the interests we all
share: the mutual stimulus of languages; the transposing of written narrative onto the
stage; the revisiting of a memory of performance that runs through the century...
In this programme, we shall be giving you all the information you require to make your
choices and plan your participation in the Festival. We are hoping to give you a foretaste
of the pleasure of making your way through the city and dreaming that the festive lights
are lit because of the theatre.