Theater
By Heart
BAM DEBUT
Written and performed by Tiago Rodrigues
“Once 10 people know a poem by heart,” the literary critic George Steiner once said, “there’s nothing the KGB, the CIA or the Gestapo can do about it.”
Visionary Portuguese artist Tiago Rodrigues, newly appointed director of the Avignon Festival, invites 10 audience members to join him in a deeply personal poetic experiment. What appears as a relatively simple task—memorizing a poem—quickly unfolds into something more expansive, as improbable connections emerge between Boris Pasternak, Ray Bradbury, and a cook from the north of Portugal. With curiosity and wit, Rodrigues guides us on a moving journey to illuminate the places forbidden texts have found in our minds and hearts throughout history, as safeguards of humanity no tyrant or government can eradicate.
Please note that due unforeseen circumstances, By Heart will now run from Oct 12—17
Text with fragments and quotes by William Shakespeare, Ray Bradbury, George Steiner, Joseph Brodsky, among others
Set and costume design by Magda Bizarro
English translation by Tiago Rodrigues, revised by Joana Frazão
A Teatro Nacional D. Maria II production after an original creation by the company Mundo Perfeito
Executive produced by Rita Forjaz and Joana Costa Santos based on the original production by Magda Bizarro and Rita Mendes
Co-produced by O Espaço do Tempo, Maria Matos Teatro Municipal
Created with the financial support by Governo de Portugal | DGArtes
Leadership support for BAM Access Programs provided by the Jerome L. Greene Foundation.
Leadership support for theater at BAM provided by
The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.;
The SHS Foundation; and The Shubert Foundation, Inc.
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He Speaks Theater’s Language (and Many Others, Too)
Tiago Rodrigues, the newly appointed director of the Avignon Festival, will make his American debut, in English, with a work he has also performed in French, Greek, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
Join fellow BAM Patrons and BAM artists for a behind-the-scenes celebration with the company, following the performance of Tiago Rodrigues’ By Heart.
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