Ei! Marionetas / Teatro e Marionetas de Mandrágora

Ei! Marionetas - Encontro Internacional de Marionetas de Gondomar 2025

Santo Aleixo Puppets -- The Creation of the World [ SHOW ]

• Centro Dramático de Évora < Évora
• M/12 . 1hr . 3€
• booking > ticketline.sapo.pt/evento/auto-da-criacao-do-mundo-94909/sessao/117038_3870_1752352200


• In 1981, CENDREV began the process that led to the revival of this example of popular puppet theatre from Alentejo, in a process led by Master António Talhinhas, who worked with them for over forty years.
  The work carried out at the Garcia de Resende Theatre with the puppets naturally resulted in the creation of a “new family” to ensure the continuity of the work that other generations of puppeteers had guaranteed over time.
  As this is an artistic expression passed down orally from generation to generation, the work carried out with the poet and master António Talhinhas, the last traditional puppeteer who worked with the puppets for more than four decades, was particularly important, both in the process of collecting and recording all the texts and in learning how to put on the show.
  Everything was learned from him: the manipulation and movement of the puppets, the characteristics of each character, the musical accompaniment, provided live by a Portuguese guitar, the preparation of pês louro (pine resin) which guarantees the surprising fogacheis, the making of the small candles for the angels, the preparation of handmade firecrackers, and the use of olive oil lamps to illuminate the altarpiece where the show takes place.

Santo Aleixo Puppets -- The Creation of the World

A single recital to see the story of Adam and Eve, with episodes of their expulsion from paradise and the lives of their children Abel and Cain on earth. It all begins with the dance of the Little Angels and ends with an unusual invitation from Cain to the devils, after being thrown into hell.

With an Alentejo accent and regional vocabulary that has almost been forgotten, there is no shortage of scathing comments from Father Chancas and Master Salas punctuating the show, which takes place on a small altarpiece lit by an oil lamp to the sound of a Portuguese guitar.

what the festival has to say

Master Talhinhas, whom we had the pleasure of seeing several decades ago in Évora while he was still passing on his art to this group of actors from Évora, reflects here a perpetuation of history that had already reached him in the 19th century in the interior of our Alentejo region.

Over time, the Bonecos de Santo Aleixo (Santo Aleixo Puppets) have come to occupy a special place in the appreciation of theatre heritage in Portugal. The originals are now on display at the Puppet Museum in Lisbon, and it is through the memory and knowledge passed down by the masters that we can watch this show with its strong identity, which takes us back to a time, but also to a tradition that has been perpetuated and must be preserved.

These puppets, with stories and narratives full of Alentejo accents, still lit by oil lamps, with live music, manipulated by actors who have shown them throughout the country and internationally, finally arrive at Ei! Marionetas. A long-held desire to share such a beautiful tradition, such a valuable heritage, with the audience has finally been fulfilled.

Centro Dramático de Évora

CENDREV is responsible for restoring the important collection of traditional puppets from Alentejo, the Bonecos de Santo Aleixo, with which it has already performed hundreds of shows in Portugal and abroad. It also organizes BIME – Évora International Puppet Biennial, which was first held in 1987.

This company has been a veritable laboratory from which professionals have emerged who have gone on to join other professional structures in Alentejo and throughout the country. This ongoing work has also led to the establishment of networks of contacts and partnerships with countless creators and institutions at the national and international level. An example of this practice is the creation of the Iberian Performing Arts Circuit, which involves a group of artistic creation structures from both countries with responsibilities in the management and programming of other performance venues.

art

links

• cendrev.pt
• facebook.com/cendrev.teatro
• instagram.com/cendrev.teatro

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