Advertisement

It's not weird, everyone should go to the theatre abroad once in their life

Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City: Some theatres deserve visits regardless of language - Osmany Torres Martín
Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City: Some theatres deserve visits regardless of language - Osmany Torres Martín

The rehearsal rooms are abuzz as Porto’s São João National Theatre prepares for its upcoming show by renowned British playwright Martin Crimp.

Theatre-lovers in Portugal’s second city are already rushing to bagsy a seat at the prestigious playhouse. But will tourists be joining them when the play kicks off next month?

The question is not one of artistic quality. Crimp’s play is a class act. Adapted from Euripides’ The Phoenician Women, the production raised the roof when it debuted in Hamburg (in German).  

No, the pivotal issue relates to language. The Rest Will Be Familiar to You from The Cinema is just the kind of exciting, experimental work that would have theatre buffs salivating were it showing in London. Only it’s not. Plus, the play is in Portuguese, not English.

Holidaymakers think nothing of going to an art gallery or a concert hall when abroad. But the theatre? Even the most eager culture vultures can be hesitant.

Porto's Sao Joao National Theatre - Credit: istock
Porto's Sao Joao National Theatre Credit: istock

That’s plain daft, says Pedro Sobrado. Admittedly, as São João’s energetic president, he is not the most objective of commentators. But the widely travelled Mr Sobrado has a point – several points, in fact.

First, Crimp’s play will show with English subtitles running above the stage. Porto’s premier theatre is not unique here. Many of the world’s major playhouses now have transcription technology in place.

Even without this linguistic aid, however, he insists that theatre-going while on holiday is an opportunity not to be missed.

In Porto’s case, there’s the experience of the physical theatre itself. Inaugurated in 1920 (the original was gutted by fire), the building stands as a stellar example of Portugal’s embrace of architectural modernism.

With regular tours (12:30pm, Tues-Sat, €6), it is possible to visit outside performance hours. Yet the experience is not a patch when compared to sitting in a packed auditorium with the spotlights roaming and a troupe of actors in full swing.

This is truer still for the theatre’s sister site, located in the cloister of the nearby São Bento da Victória monastery. Dating back to the 17th century, the venue boasts an intrinsic drama all of its own.

Also high on Sobrado’s list are the non-verbal aspects of live theatre: the costumes, the set design, the music, and, most significantly of all, the actors’ own performative energy.

São João’s recent performance of Alice in Wonderland illustrates his point. Full of mad hatters and crazy tea parties, Lewis Carroll’s fantastical tale has always proved somewhat confusing to me. On stage, in rapid-fire Portuguese, forget it.

Alice in Wonderland is chaos in any tongue - Credit: Filipe Ferreira
Alice in Wonderland is chaos in any tongue Credit: Filipe Ferreira

But that didn’t stop me enjoying the show immensely. The repeated shrieks of the comedy queen (“Corta a sua cabeça”, “Off with her head”), the lively score, the superb choreography, a crazy mirrored backdrop: all provided rich entertainment.

For true aficionados, just the sound of the spoken word – even when its meaning is hidden – can provide a “sensual pleasure”. The stage, Sobrado argues, serves as “an ecological reserve of language, an amplifier of words”.

John Retallack, a British playwright and director, concurs wholeheartedly. A self-confessed theatre junkie while abroad, he recalls once being so taken by a play in Holland that he asked a Dutch-speaking friend to read the whole script back to him immediately.

“If you think the magic of theatre has disappeared in English, then one way to reclaim the mystery and magic is to watch plays in foreign languages,” he states.

Who wouldn't want to watch a play here, in Athens? - Credit: istock
Who wouldn't want to watch a play here, in Athens? Credit: istock

According to Retallack, another surprising benefit of attending the theatre while abroad is the insights it can offer to the culture of a place.

In Berlin, for example, people will happily up and leave if a performance disappoints. In Washington DC, the opposite is true: people stay because being seen at the theatre forms a large part of why many go in the first place.

“Going to the theatre in another country means that you can see for yourself the different behaviours, customs, and levels of intellectual and political debate that exist there,” says Retallack.

The exception, of course, is pantomime. Sure, watching a Victor Hugo play in Paris or a Henrik Ibsen production in Oslo is one for the bucket list. Crimp in Porto, too, perhaps.

Yet visitors to the UK be sure: no-one does slapstick like a rouge-cheeked dame at the Blackpool Grand.

For more information on the Sao Joao National Theatre and its upcoming plays visit its website tnsj.pt