Latest news and stories about performing arts in Portugal for expats and residents.
The performing arts go on holiday to other parts of the country, passing through Montemor-o-Novo, Cem Soldos, Porto de Mós, Caldas da Rainha, and Lagos
Actors Miguel Falabella and Marisa Orth reunite for a new stage production, with the comedy scheduled to premiere in Portugal this autumn.
The Teatro Nacional de São Carlos (TNSC) is the guest 'main artist' for next year's Saaremaa Opera Festival in Estonia, according to the programme announced by the festival.
After 16 years, the programmer is stepping away from the Guimarães centre, which he helped make relevant to the national performing arts scene. A successor could be announced as early as next week.
The 2026-2027 season of the Companhia Nacional de Bailado (CNB) features 'Desassossego', inspired by Fernando Pessoa's 'The Book of Disquiet', with choreography by Marcelino Sambé and Daniel Cardoso. The programme also includes 'The Sleeping Beauty', the Portuguese premiere of 'Carmina Burana' by Edward Clug, and a special 50th-anniversary production titled 'A Extraordinária Companhia – 50 anos de futuro', directed by Fernando Duarte. The season concludes with 'Lightness and Darkness' and a children's production of 'Peter and the Wolf'.
Beethoven, Bizet, Verdi, Bach, Strauss, Camões: these are some of the names converging in the new programme for the opera house, which, while still closed for renovations, will travel through ten cities next year.
The programme for the final four months of the Braga venue also features names from the performing arts and music such as Marlene Monteiro Freitas, Lambchop, Gisela João, and Raquel Lima.
The programme brings together artists from different fields based on choreographic language. This edition features David Marques, Mélanie Ferreira, Tiago Vieira, and musician Norberto Lobo.
The new performing arts programme kicks off with a celebration on 11 September. Featuring more dance, a focus on Portuguese theatre and jazz, and Beethoven is also included.
In “A Cavalo”, Sónia Baptista denounces the abusive way horses are treated. What does Pedro Abrunhosa have to do with this? Go see the show at the Teatro São Luiz, from Friday to Sunday.
The Performing Arts Festival in Public Space ends this Saturday. It features 39 shows by 200 artists from 16 countries, including music, dance, theatre, and circus.
The Government will award the Teatro Aberto the Medal of Cultural Merit this Wednesday, May 20, in a ceremony presided over by the Minister of Culture. “Awarding the Medal of Cultural Merit to Teatro Aberto is to affirm deep respect and recognition for five decades of work dedicated to the creation and dissemination of dramaturgy and the development of the performing arts in Portugal,” says Margarida Balseiro Lopes, as quoted in a statement from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. The ministry highlights that the decoration marks the institution's 50th anniversary, “honouring a journey that began with Grupo 4 in the 1960s and was developed by the Novo Grupo de Teatro, whose theatre, opera, and music programming became a benchmark for contemporary creation in Portugal.” This tribute takes place on the day Teatro Aberto premieres the opera 'Por Todos Nós', with a libretto by João Lourenço and Vera San Payo de Lemos, music by Eurico Carrapatoso, and musical direction by João Paulo Santos. Based on the novel 'Os Memoráveis' by Lídia Jorge, this OPART/Teatro Nacional de São Carlos co-production is part of the programme for the Commission for the Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the 25th of April. An opera with an angel hovering to celebrate the 25th of April at Teatro Aberto.
After several years of refusing to return to stand-up, Ricardo Araújo Pereira gave in to the insistence and is already on tour with “Verificando Se Você É Humano” (Checking If You Are Human). In the first part of the conversation with Gustavo Carvalho, on Humor À Primeira Vista, he explains how he prepared for his return to the stage and reacts to an old performance on “Levanta-te e Ri”.
Parterre, a piece by the Brazilian choreographer and dancer, is one of the highlights of the Transborda performing arts showcase. This Saturday, at the Teatro Joaquim Benite, it will infect the audience.
Split between Porto, Matosinhos, and Gaia, the dance festival begins this Wednesday and runs until the 19th. The programme includes Alice Ripoll, Diana Niepce, Eric Minh Cuong Castaing, and Tânia Carvalho.
Nine years after its last performance, the National Ballet Company (CNB) presents a contemporary version of 'Swan Lake' with choreography by Fernando Duarte and live music.
The show will take place between April 9 and 24 at the Teatro Camões in Lisbon.
A play about forgetting, written and performed by Mário Coelho in 2024, in which he returns to a more intimate, solo format following works for large casts. At Clube Estefânia, in Lisbon, from the 9th to the 12th.
The Lisbon Film Orchestra is bringing a new, adapted version of Stephen Sondheim's 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street' to the Teatro Armando Cortez in Lisbon. Directed by Nuno de Sá and staged by Pedro Pernas, this production aims to offer a fresh, conceptual perspective on the classic tale, incorporating elements of film and dark humour to make the macabre story more accessible to a wider audience. The musical runs from April 2nd to May 3rd, featuring Bryan Carvalho as Sweeney Todd and Vânia Blubird as Mrs. Lovett.
About 75% of performing arts workers admitted to having experienced situations of moral harassment, and half reported cases of sexual harassment.
A study on workplace harassment in the performing arts calls for a best practices manual and the creation of an independent commission to develop structural measures against the problem.
A scientific study on workplace harassment in the Portuguese performing arts sector reveals that bullying and sexual harassment are widespread, often perpetrated by those in leadership or artistic direction roles. The research, conducted under the MUDA project, highlights that victims frequently face humiliation, intimidation, and non-consensual physical contact, with many reporting that precarious employment conditions exacerbate their vulnerability and hinder the reporting of abuse. The report calls for urgent institutional action, including mandatory training, independent reporting channels, and stronger legal protections.
Long before the lights go up and the audience starts to enter, the Teatro Politeama is already in full swing. Behind the scenes of this theatre that never stops, there are light and sound tests, stages rising and falling, and a synchronized whirl of actors, musicians, and technicians. On World Theatre Day, we unveil this magical world that Filipe La Féria begins to create from a simple blank sheet of paper.
A modern and very current narrative, where a virtual assistant serves the search for answers to existence.
The work of Manuel António Pina is on stage at the São João National Theatre in Porto.
The premiere of the musical Evita in Portugal, this Friday the 27th at the Teatro Capitólio, marks one of the most ambitious moments in recent Portuguese musical theatre and the return of Sofia Escobar to the national stage in one of the most demanding roles in the international repertoire. Directed by Paulo Sousa Costa, this new production offers a historical, political, and emotional reading of Eva Perón, a figure who continues to divide opinion and spark debate decades after her death. For Escobar, the role represents an artistic turning point, requiring her to move beyond the younger, more naive characters of her past to capture the bipolarity, contradictions, and dramatic weight of a real historical icon. Both the actress and the director emphasize the contemporary relevance of Perón’s struggle as a woman navigating male-dominated power structures, aiming to reveal the human vulnerability behind the myth.
A play based on the work of Manuel António Pina, another that says 'Valentina and Valeria Are Not Dead', the 20th anniversary of Sean Riley & The Slowriders, and notes on Lee Ritenour, Sereias, and Strangelove.
The Theatro Municipal de São Paulo announced last Sunday (22) the return of the São Paulo City Ballet to Portugal. The Brazilian company will perform at the Teatro Municipal do Porto with the show 'Encruzilhada', choreographed by Renan Martins, on April 8 and 9, as part of the DDD – Dias da Dança Festival. The performances will take place at 9:30 PM at the Rivoli Grand Auditorium, marking the group's international tour as they return to Europe with a recent work from their repertoire. The piece investigates collective movement, exploring relationships of encounter, tension, and negotiation among the performers on stage. Created by Renan Martins, 'Encruzilhada' brings together references from popular dances, collective imagery, and various bodily archives, bringing practices that rarely occupy traditional spaces to the stage. The show focuses on collectivity as a practice in constant construction, with dancers working through dynamics of listening, friction, and coexistence. Tickets cost €12 for the 80-minute performance and can be purchased via the provided link.
Hornfuckers is a creation by the choreographer about systems of oppression. It is restraint, poetry, and punk, premiering at Culturgest on Thursday.
An interview with the team behind the first official Portuguese production of the musical 'In The Heights', discussing the influence of Lin-Manuel Miranda, the challenges of the production, and the show's relevance in contemporary society.
