Rui Torrinha assumes artistic direction of Porto Municipal Theatre

O former artistic director of Vila Flor Cultural Center (CCVF) Rui Torrinha is the new director of the Porto Municipal Theatre, succeeding Drew Klein, today announced the municipal company Ágora.

Besides the Municipal Theatre of Porto, which includes the Rivoli and Campo Alegre, Torrinha will also take the direction of the Festival Dias da Dança and CAMPUS Paulo Cunha e Silva, integrated in the Direction of Performing Arts of the municipal company Ágora – Culture and Sport.

The contract, as a service commission, is valid for four years and may be renewed for a period ranging from one to four additional years.

“The jury selected one of the programmers with the greatest knowledge of the performing arts sector in Portugal and with a recognized contribution in a public service vision, local public training and international projection. Rui Torrinha built a solid path ahead of important cultural structures, festivals and European networks”, said the Councillor of Culture, Jorge Sobrado, quoted in a statement.

The jury that took the decision in the contest, open on 24 August this year and with 17 applications in all, was composed by the vowel of Ágora Joana Meneses Fernandes, the former artistic director of the National Theatre São João Nuno Carinhas and also by the cultural manager Luísa Taveira.

According to the councilman, elected in the lists of the PS to the House of Porto but to integrate the executive PSD/CDS-PP/IL, Rui Torrinha “he deeply knows the different dimensions that link artistic creation to programming and international circulation”.

Born in April 1971 in Vila das Aves, municipality of Santo Tirso, Rui Torrinha has worked as a cultural manager and programmer, having been artistic director of Centro Cultural Vila Flor, in Guimarães, from 2018 until this year.

In addition to this responsibility, he managed the performing arts of the cooperative The Workshop and, in Guimarães, also coordinated projects such as the GUIdance dance festival from 2015 to 2026, the Gil Vicente Festivals (2016-2025) and the Westway LAB (2014-2026).

Internationally, he managed projects such as the European Talent Exchange, Aerowaves, the Innovation Network of European Showcases and CircusNext, and organized the 15th Spring Forward edition.

It has in the curriculum the work in the programming of the European Capital of Culture Guimarães2012, in music, and other creation infrastructures.

According to the statement of the municipality, the choice of the new artistic director allows to fulfill the “priorities of the cultural strategy of the municipality in cycle 2027/2029”.

“ Among these priorities are the increase of support for artistic creation based in the city of Porto and the increase of the participation of artists and structures based in Porto in regular programming; the consolidation and strengthening of the international position of the DDD – Festival Dias da Dança, and the development of a programmatic orientation of Teatro Campo Alegre for the domains of word, literature, reading and thinking, among others ", can be read in the note.

The competition listed the international consolidation of Dias da Dança and the apparent configuration of Campo Alegre for new areas such as highlights, as well as support for structures based in Porto, so that they have more presence in regular programming.

Rui Torrinha, who began his duties on January 4, 2027, succeeded Drew Klein, who had started his duties in 2023.

This month, the new artistic director of Contemporary Art of the House of Porto will be known, including the Municipal Gallery of Porto.