The cast plays female and male characters – in an archetypal scale, anima and animus – embodying these two opposite and complimentary energies. In the unbalanced modern world, animus oppresses anima, resulting in such a violence that permeates the relationships between people and between people with nature. It is against this state that the feminine, lyrical and anguished voice of AGDA poses itself on the affirmation of her singularity, in the demonstration of her ‘non-violent power’, in the eternal Search for knowledge, making the challenge of assembling the text nowadays even more valuable. It premiered in 2011 and, even after 10 years of existence, it makes its subject extremely urgent and contemporary. The performance has travelled through several cities and states in Brazil (through projects involving SESCs, Sesis, Festivals and Proac Public projects), as well as shows in Évora, Portugal (through the Internationalization programme by the no longer existing Ministry of Culture).

SYNOPSIS

A timeless fable of tragic character, AGDA show is an adaptation of Hilda Hilst’s namesake tale. The story of the taboo-breaking Woman who brings her community’s full wrath down, serves as a metaphor for a discussion over the contemporary world, whose patriarchal and violent logic does not give space to kindness or care. To that end, the enactment combines dance and drama elements, shifting through prose and poetry, in a delicate play of image and characters.

Cast: Alice Possani, Erika Cunha and Verônica Fabrini

Original Text: Hilda Hilst

Diretion and Adpatation: Moacir Ferraz

Lighting Design: Moacir Ferraz

Costume Design: Juliana Pfeifer and Sandra Pestana

Scenographic Technology: Juliana Pfeifer

Soundtrack: Mauro Braga and Silas Oliveira

Photography: Maycon Soldan

Produção: Matula Teatro

Provided by: Matula Teatro Group and Boa Companhia

Length: 60 min

Age Rating: 18 years old

Who was Hilda Hilst?

Hilda Hilst (Jaú, April 21st, 1930 — Campinas, February 4th, 2004) was a Brazilian novelist, chronicler, playwright and poet, considered by the specialized critics as one of the biggest Portuguese language writers of the 20th century, who reported the fragile and surprising human condition in her work, merging sacred and profane, real and imaginary.
In 1965 she moved to Campinas, starting up a type of creative haven, which she called CASA DO SOL (‘Sun’s house’ in Portuguese). There, Hilda dedicated herself exclusively to her literary work, producing more than 80% of her work. Nowadays, Casa do Sol is known for hosting an archive of her memory as well as the the Hilda Hilst Institute.
She was honoured as an author at FLIP 2018 (International Literary Festival of Paraty, Rio de Janeiro) and was granted awards such as Jabuti, APCA (Associação Paulista dos Críticos de Artes – Art Critics Association of São Paulo State), Pen Clube São Paulo and Cassiano Ricardo. Her work has been translated to English, French, Spanish, Basque, German, Italian, Norwegian and Japanese, and she is considered to be one of the biggest Brazilian female authors of the 20th Century.

Critics

“…the strength of the words uttered by the vigorous interpretation of the three actresses hits us as if we were still leaves that had been shaken by gale.” (Ednaldo Freire)
“The powerful dramaturgical transcreation (…) not only maintains the hybrid nature of Hilda Hilst’s tale – in which the dramatic, narrative and lyrical aspects blend – as it also, still, conserves all the intensity of its writing, acquiring precious nuances throughout the game between poetry and the bodies that transit through the male and female energies, the human and the animal, the profane and the divine.” (Nina Caetano)
“Very successful show. The Direction is remarkable for its drama design and actresses managing. Good interpretations, good body mastering. A serious work, which is always a pleasure to watch.” (Roberto Lage)