ABC da Guerra is a programme of reflection designed and led by João Sousa Cardoso, based on the reading and analysis of works of modern and contemporary dramaturgy related to the topic of war. The series includes Portuguese and international authors, and it takes place monthly between January and November 2025, in Sala Mário Viegas at Teatro São Luiz. The subject is not addressed chronologically or graphically, and occasionally it might be approached via its opposite or tangentially, where the war context is used as a background (as in Señora Carrar’s Rifles, by Bertolt Brecht, which will close the programme), or where the social conflict is of an economic or cultural nature. In each session, João Sousa Cardoso will analyse the text both as a whole (aesthetically, sociologically, politically) and in terms of its specific elements (formal aspects, marginalia, intertextuality). He is a university professor and essayist who has been developing theoretical analyses in the area of cross-thinking and the intersection between different art forms. Also in each session, an actress or actor will read excerpts of the play, in close dialogue with critical reflection.
The project intends to create a reading circle that promotes a collective analytical and critical study of texts from the history of theatre over the last one hundred years, aimed at an audience of both professionals and amateurs, theorists and artists, bringing together people with varying levels of education and belonging to different age groups. The auditorium space and the low lighting create an atmosphere of conference-performance, promoting a close relationship with the audience. In order to lend a cohesive scenography to these meetings, visual artist Ana Pérez-Quiroga created an original textile piece in the form of a double-faced large mantle, which is laid on the stage floor or worn by the performers when reading texts. The project will culminate in a publication including the ten critical texts and a comparative reading of all of the dramaturgic texts studied, as well as stills from the sessions, to be published in 2026.
Texts: The Blacks, by Jean Genet (1958), Summer and Smoke, by Tennessee Williams (1948), It’s Only the End of the World, by Jean-Luc Lagarce (1990), Blasted, by Sarah Kane (1995), Señora Carrar’s Rifles, by Bertolt Brecht (1937), among others.
