Maria do Céu Guerra and Maria Rueff debut play on “King Lear”

A theatre company The Barraca premieres today in Lisbon “Happy New Lear”, a play starring Maria do Céu Guerra and Maria Rueff who brings to the stage the social problems of Shakespeare’s time and the current ones.

Materializing a desire that long ago Maria of Heaven War had to counterstage with Maria Rueff, “Happy New Lear” is a text by Patricia Portela, from Shakespeare’s “King Lear”, and brings to the stage “a man who is being dispossessed from power” without explaining what power it is, explained to journalists actress Maria of Heaven War, at the end of a essay of the play for the press.

“ Both can be a landowner, as an aristocrat, as an imaginary king”, said Maria do Céu Guerra, in a spectacle that Maria Rueff said has been “even a great joy”.

As for Bobo, personified by Maria Rueff – a young actress and comedian, in the words of Maria do Céu Guerra – she is a character who is “at the beginning of her work and is sucked into history, making several characters at the same time and fulfilling several situations, some more comical, some more tragic and others completely unexpected”.

The story begins with Bobo, who in his spare time performs in hotels “to earn more change” to stay on the way after a stop of the car in which he followed, which follows a meeting with an old walker.

It is given the motto for “the great adventure” that, according to Maria do Céu Guerra, actresses, author and director chose to make “a possible ‘Lear’ with the various situations that interested them” portray.

An abandoned old man, like so many that families leave in homes or hospitals, the precarious work of artists, the war and the loneliness of the two characters – “because we are all alone, even if accompanied”, as Maria do Céu Guerra stressed – are situations portrayed in a work described as “maybe the most contemporary piece of all time”.

Maria Rueff equated the play “to be on a national road, where there are no boars, but where they can appear at any time”, while Maria do Céu Guerra stressed that the action takes place in a “path without time”.

As they worked with the author of the text and with the director Martim Pedroso, the actresses carried to the play themes such as people with Alzheimer’s who are dropped out at times of celebration, such as Christmas, New Year’s Eves and Carnivals, “sometimes by their own families and who are going to end up with us,” said Maria Rueff.

In the figure of the comedian who is on his way to a hotel animation, “the spectrum of what is a fool” is recognized, said Rueff, stressing that with this character he also wanted to honor all comedians who have a “more altruistic” mission, such as Dr. Clowns or Operation Red Nose.

“Happy New Lear”, which was built from the translations of “King Lear” by Álvaro Cunhal, Millôr Fernandes and Manuel Gomes da Torre, is on stage at Cinearte until December 31, with recitations on Wednesday and Thursday, at 19:30, on Friday and Saturday, at 9:30 p.m., and on Sunday at 5:00 p.m.

With the dramaturgy of Maria do Céu Guerra, Maria Rueff, Martim Pedroso and Patrícia Portela, the piece has light drawing by Vasco Lello, who signs the video with Rafael Aniceto.

The music and sonoplasty are by Carlos Morgado, the costumes of João Telmo – Beast of Style, the operation of light by Rafael Aniceto and the operation of sound and video by Hugo Rodrigues.