Prelude, the savage woman

Prelude: noun; a preliminary to an action, event; an introductory piece of music; any action, event, etc. that precedes something else; INTRODUCTION, OPENING, BEGINNING.

 

Prelude is an inner scream, quite visceral, that points directly to the savage nature of women.

The play is a poetic performance presenting us a tangle of symbols, of archetypes, making us unconsciously believe again in the intuitive and supernatural power of women, which is closely connected with nature and with death and renewal cycles.

Oppressed by a group of social and religious conventions, and by a society dominated by men, the primitive savage being of women is released, in this play, in the form of a poem sang and told, a sort of melodic scream that echoes the deepest instincts of woman nature.

The beautiful and sensitive music composition, together with the oral narrative, entwines the stories of the play and touches us inside. When listening to it, we are taken away by a vortex of images and emotions that are in the voice of who is singing/speaking, and kept inside of who is listening to it. This is the key to take the audience in a sensitive journey, almost hypnotic, to the bottom of the emotional memory of each spectator.

A performance entangled with the laces found in the collective memory, having the oral tradition as the main source material for this construction: archetypes, symbols, and rituals – the human essence spoken.

“Prelude” is a truly emotional journey. An act of renewal and recovery of the savage woman that exists in each one of us. Even in men.

Direction: Bruno Martins

Performed and co-created by: Catarina Gomes, Cláudia Berkeley, Daniela Marques

Research and Dramaturgical Support | Oral narrative technique: Patrícia Amaral

Music composition and direction: Rui Souza

Scenography and costumes: Sandra Neves

Lighting design: Valter Alves

Costume maker: Joaquim Azevedo

Scientific consulting: José Joaquim Dias Marques, Paulo Correia

Production: Ludmila Teixeira

Co-production: Teatro da Didascália | Casa das Artes de V. N. de Famalicão | Centro Cultural Vila Flor

Financed by: Direção geral das Artes | Secretaria de Estado da Cultura

Running time: 60 min.

Age ratings: Over 12

Acknowledgements: Maria de Lurdes Martins; CEAO (Centro de Estudos Ataíde de Oliveira – Universidade do Algarve), Kiara Maria; Maria do Carmo