Leituras no Mosteiro

In *Readings at the Monastery*, the 16 June session at ESMAE marks the closing of the tour through Porto’s art schools and of the cycle devoted to repertory texts linked to the programming of Teatro São João and Teatro Carlos Alberto between 1974 and 1992.

The text being read is *Philoctetes*, by Heiner Müller, presented in 1987 by Teatro da Rainha at Carlos Alberto. The session features the participation of playwright, teacher and translator Francisco Luís Parreira.

Today 8 The first time 12 Repertoire(s): Lectures 16 New projects of inclusion and social responsibility 18 Programming calendar inside and outside the house 20 Kings' Concerts 34 No More Springs 36 Sentinels 38 Class Enemy 40 The End 42 Love of Perdition 46 A Poet in the Shape of Thus 48 False True Stories: A Pina Collage 50 Hamlet Is Me 56 This Is a Genuine Hitler 58 Bérénice 60 Visitations: Manuel António Pina 64 MUSICAL-MENTE 66 Buchettino 68 FITEI at TNSJ 74 Something Is About to Happen 78 Invisible Places 80 The Art Schools at TNSJ 82 The Kiss on the Asphalt 84 Voice Festival 90 Territory IX 92 Educational Centre 94 World Theatre Day/ Masked Ball 100 The King of Austria 101 Documentation Centre 102 Readings at the Monastery 104 Collection of Dramatic Texts 106 Stacker Collection 108 Conversations with Marta 110 Accessibility + Social Tickets/Solidarity Premiere 112 Guided Tours 114 Ubu Bar 116 Subscriptions 118 Prospero Card + TNSJ Friend Card + Theatre and Dance Schools Card 120 Front Desk and Box Office 121 TNSJ technical sheet 123 Sponsors BPI/“la Caixa” Foundation 126

Today, on the São João stage, Carlos Pimenta and the Ensemble are rehearsing *The End*, by António Patrício; in the Grand Hall, Palmilha Dentada is finishing a new café-theatre show; in the White Room, a technical meeting is being held to prepare the concert by A Garota Não; at Teatro Carlos Alberto, the set for *Love of Perdition*, directed by Maria João Vicente, is being unloaded and assembled; in the rehearsal room, it is the day of the Theatre Clubs promoted by the Educational Centre, after an intense weekend with Atelier 200 at the Soares dos Reis Art School; in a room lent by the legendary Clube Fenianos Portuenses, Victor Hugo Pontes is directing the rehearsal of *False True Stories*, with our actors and the singing, dancing words of Manuel António Pina; at the Monastery of São Bento da Vitória, there is a site meeting, with designers, contractor, site supervisor and the TNSJ Buildings and Maintenance team. Today, we contact the finalists in the competition for the coordination of our Educational Centre, following the jury's decision; we close the dossier with the activity proposal for the Fundación “la Caixa”, which includes new social responsibility projects; we receive the audience figures for *Class Enemy*, which sold out the TeCA for two short weeks; we meet with our colleagues from DGArtes to deal with the award ceremony for the Guillermo Heras Prize to Mário Moutinho; we consider the application of a project with people experiencing homelessness to a social innovation funding line; we decide to buy the slightly exorbitant transatlantic trips so that biographer Ruy Castro can tell us, live, about Nelson Rodrigues (videoconference? “The theatre is shamelessly body,” argues Eric Bentley); we assess, at a moment when we are deprived of the breadth of our Benedictine monument, the use of rehearsal spaces by independent companies and production structures; as for me, I still follow an age-old tradition: drafting — late and in the small hours — the text for the opening of this agenda. PEDRO SOBRADO Chairman of the Board of Directors PROGRAMMING JAN—JUL 2026  9 Today

A single day lived from within São João allows us to see almost the whole season — and what is seen from the administration is often limited. Today, an entire team, spread across several buildings — ours and others, lent by institutional fellow travellers such as the Fenianos or the Union of Parishes of Porto’s Historic Centre — works together in solidarity on the development of the activity we present, so well written and designed in this programming booklet: from the most circumspect Accounting and Public Procurement departments to the Communication agitators, passing through the machine room that is the small but mighty Production team or the elite troops of the Stage. Some have just landed on this self-illuminated star, as happens with some performers in our new production; others are saying goodbye to us after many years together, heading into the private sector. (Today, we are preparing the internal communication about the departure of Abílio Barbosa, an electrician who arrived here 25 years ago.) Today, all I brought to begin this text was a famous line by F. Scott Fitzgerald: “Pull your chair up to the edge of the precipice and I’ll tell you a story.” Used and abused in creative writing workshops for aspiring writers, the phrase seems to sum up the condition of theatre today: the world on the edge of the abyss, and us telling stories. The formulation also evokes that particular combination of intimacy and danger that theatre brings about. We invite our fellow citizens to settle comfortably into the seats of the climate-controlled halls of TNSJ to hear false true stories and, in hushed tones, the sound of a siren. If we are at the edge of the precipice, our attention increases and sharpens. Intimacy is forged in risk. Welcome, today and always.■ 10  TEATRO NACIONAL SÃO JOÃO

The first time I entered this theatre was on 24 October 1996. I sat in the 2nd balcony, seat C21, to see *The Great Theatre of the World*. I remember thinking: “This really is the greatest theatre in the world.” Since then, whenever I have come in here as a spectator, I have brought that wonder with me — and the unconfessed desire to one day be part of this house. I never truly thought, however, that I would become its artistic director. Perhaps I imagined that could happen when I was older. Between my first time in this theatre and today, everything happened quickly. So quickly that it feels as if it were yesterday. At the same