O cheiro dos velhos
A civil servant is wetting his feet on a calm, quiet and deserted beach, when he is surprised by an old cadaverous beggar, toothless and smelling of alcohol, who has taken over his shoes. He tries to recover his asset with respectful cordiality, but the old woman reciprocates with an indecipherable posture, which progresses from a grumpy obstinacy to sadistic wickedness. The man’s perplexity – he attributes the woman’s attitude to the gratuitous cruelty of a stranger – is opposed by the old woman’s determination to force him to a “sincere confession” of an earlier offence.
In an age oriented towards theatricality, where the game of media fantasies and the histrionic colours with which everyday banalities are adorned blurs the boundaries between “truth” and “lie”, who is right? One of the sides, both or none?
Credits
original text: Caplan Neves
staging and scenic: João Branco
staging assistant: Edson Fortes
artistic advice: Isabel Barros
cast: Caplan Neves, Janaina Alves e Lisa Reis
movement and manipulation support: Micaela Soares e Vítor Gomes
production (Portugal): Sofia Carvalho
lighting design: Filipe Azevedo
creation of puppets: Ester Monteiro
construction coordination: João Pedro Trindade
costumes: Fernando Morais (Cape Verde) and Cristina Gil (Portugal)
design and confection of costumes (puppets): Claudia Ribeiro e Marlene Rodriguez
video: Henrique Mello
photography: Queila Fernandes
coproduction: Grupo de Teatro do Centro Cultural Português do Mindelo (Cape Verde) and Teatro de Marionetas do Porto, Porto Municipal Theatre and Porto International Puppet Festival
duration: 1h20, without interval
age rating: 16+
Portuguese language