Dawn is the moment between night and day, the period of light when the sun has not yet risen and everything is bathed in a diffuse glow, caught in a tension between darkness, shadow, and light. It is the moment that has not yet come to be. But it is always a new beginning.
AURORA (or BOOK) is a performance that takes place partly with eyes closed. The piece is structured as a series of new beginnings, between attempts to write, read, speak, find the right words to communicate, construct landscapes, or share memories.
Sometimes, what appears is not necessarily what is meant to be shown, or what would catch the viewer’s attention. There is a closeness and familiarity with the actors’ bodies and voices that often dilutes the theatricality. The audience must choose what to hear or see. As if, at times, the performers wanted to say: we want you to hear this—and, at others, were more interested in asking: what do you hear in this?
One of the suggestions throughout the show is for the audience to open and close their eyes, as a playful mechanism, suggesting that, at a certain point, whether one’s eyes are open or closed may ultimately cease to matter.
This is a project developed in collaboration with groups of blind and/or visually impaired people in Viseu, Coimbra, and Torres Vedras. The performance features a strong audio component and aims to bring blind and/or visually impaired audiences into conversation with sighted audiences. All performances also include an accessible introduction for blind audiences.
direction and creation Paula Diogo co-creation João Lopes Pereira and Renato Linhares performers João Lopes Pereira, Paula Diogo (alternating with Márcia Lança) and Renato Linhares dramaturgical support Mariana Ricardo external viewpoint Joana Gomes and Márcia Lança light design Wilma Moutinho Torres Vedras’ light operation Catarina Côdea sound design Suse Ribeiro original soundtrack João Lopes Pereira in dialogue with Mariana Ricardo and Yaw Tembe set and technical direction and staging to be defined video recording and styling Masako Hattori photo João Tuna project management Paula Diogo and Daniela Ribeiro executive production Ricardo Arenga and Má-Criação co-production Má-Criação and Teatro Viriato residencies Alkantara, Centro de Experimentação Artística do Vale da Amoreira, TAGV, Teatro-Cine de Torres Vedras and Teatro Viriato development support apap – FEMINIST FUTURES: project co-financed by the European Union’s Creative Europe Program, Dançando com a Diferença and Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian rehearsal support Fundação Centro Cultural de Belém and Polo Cultural Gaivotas | Boavista support República Portuguesa – Cultura, Juventude e Desporto/DGArtes – Direção Geral das Artes
OPENING
Teatro Viriato, Viseu PT, March 2026
TOUR
Teatro-Cine de Torres Vedras, Torres Vedras PT, 2026
TAGV Teatro Académico Gil Vicente, Coimbra PT, 2027
CEA Centro de Experimentação Artística do Vale da Amoreira, Moita PT, 2027