Reviews

Brás Cubas is a bold and creative approach to one of the most iconic works of Brazilian literature. By transposing the novel to the stage, the company delivers an exciting theatrical experience. In this way, the celebration of the 35th anniversary of Armazém Theatre Company is marked by an achievement that honors not only its trajectory, but also the rich literary heritage of the country.

Alvaro Tallarico, Vivente Andante

Brás Cubas has a cast in full balance. With this collective, Paulo de Moraes reiterates his ability to make chronicler panels with many voices. It is a panel in which the mocking spirit of Brás Cubas is not a fiend, but an avatar to illuminate our caution in relation to the pitfalls of institutionalized inequality.

Rodrigo Fonseca, Rota Cult

About Brás Cubas

The Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas, the brilliant book by Machado de Assis that served as inspiration for this production, is a playful masterpiece and Brás Cubas is one of the most iconic characters in Brazilian literature, a pretentious and arrogant guy, a kind of record holder of failures, who tells us so much about the formation of the Brazilian elite. The story follows the irresponsible and lazy Brás Cubas as he – after his death – reflects on his life. This is a story of refusals. Brás refuses to commit to anything or anyone. His life is just a sequence of incidents. As perhaps are the lives of almost all of us. What he pursues is fame. Being famous is the empty and meaningless desire that drives him to such a distance from the world that, even after he is dead, he decides to dedicate his memoirs not to anyone, but to the first worm to gnaw at the cold flesh of his corpse.

For the full functioning of this work, the company created three scenic planes that mix all the time – and that talk to each other: the narrative plane (in which the deceased narrates his memories), the action plane (in which the events of Brás Cubas' life materialize on the stage) and the construction plan (which has Machado de Assis interacting with his creation). In this play, Machado de Assis himself becomes a character. And his figure is reimagined as that of a contemporary, streetwise artist, who materializes his words into scenic and musical devices. On stage, in addition to the novelist, we see the Machado de Assis who reflects on the condition of enslaved people, the city chronicler, and the theatre critic – facets that make him so fundamental in the construction of Brazil´s national identity.

Credits

Director: Paulo de Moraes

Dramaturgy: Maurício Arruda Mendonça

Cast: Sérgio Machado, Jopa Moraes, Bruno Lourenço, Isabel Pacheco, Felipe

Bustamante and Lorena Lima

Musician: Ricco Viana

Music Director: Ricco Viana

Set Design: Carla Berri and Paulo de Moraes

Lighting Design: Maneco Quinderé

Costume Design: Carol Lobato

Movement Director: Patrícia Selonk and Paulo Mantuano

Photo and Video: Mauro Kury

Graphic Designer: Jopa Moraes

Tech Team: Mauro Kury and Regivaldo Moraes

Subtitle Operator: Patrícia Selonk

Production: Armazém Companhia de Teatro

The project would like to express its special thanks to Ms. Dong Yiran and Performance Infinity for their assistance.

About Paulo de Moraes

Paulo de Moraes (born 1965) is a Brazilian theatre director. He began his work in 1987 when he founded the Armazém Theatre Company. Based in Rio de Janeiro, he has won the major awards of Brazilian theater, and two Edinburgh Fringe First Awards. His productions have been performed in South America and Europe, including originals like Water Stain and The Day Sam Died, and groundbreaking versions of classics such as Shakespeare's Hamlet and Tony Kushner's Angels in America. For Paulo, the theatre is an art where one should not be afraid of asking difficult questions. The good questions, rather than the answers, still make theatre an event of social importance. This is his second production at Wuzhen.

About Armazém Theatre Company

The Armazém Theatre Company was founded in 1987, in Londrina, Paraná, Southern Brazil, during a very effervescent and important artistic period for the city. Led by Paulo de Moraes, director and co-founder of the company, the audacity of those youngsters searching for their place on the stage would impregnate the artistic course of the company forever. Based in Rio de Janeiro since 1998, the Armazém Theatre Company is now completing 35 years of work. Always investing in a fragmented language that arranges the world from an internal point of view. This point of view is the voice of Armazém and the main protagonist of the company's representational world.

Armazém Theatre Company has won over 100 major awards in Brazil.