Echoes from Ibsen

The jury's
conclusion

The project “Ecos de Ibsen” (Echoes from Ibsen) created by Causas Comuns and Cristina Carvahal from Portugal with,involves the adaptation of the themes and attitudes from Ibsen’s work into a new play to be presented at Teatro Trindade in Lisboa in June 2013. The jury found that the artistic ambition of the project combined with an inventive approach to how to utilise Ibsen’s dramatic technique as well as his moral concerns in the creation of a new dramatic text and production bear witness to a dedication to the role of theatre in contemporary society. In addition the jury was impressed by the plans of the project to involve creative workshops both as regards the writing of a dramatic text and thus interacting with Ibsen to create a new drama, as well as the reflections on theatrical challenges involving encounters between classic and contemporary theatre. This is a concern that has been at the heart Cristina Carvahal’s work also previously, among others in her adaptation of Voltaire’s Candid in 2008.

About the project

“Echoes from Ibsen” springs from a statement by Ibsen himself: “Only by grasping and comprehending my entire production as a continuous and coherent whole will the reader be able to receive the precise impression I sought to convey in the individual parts of it.”
The project “Echoes of Ibsen” wants through their performance to establish a point of view that will allow the exploration of the “continuous and coherent whole” in the light of the Portuguese condition as European citizen in an era named post-democratic.
In an oneiric environment, samples from Ibsen’s universe will be presented in a new written play presenting contemporary Portugal.

Cristina Carvalhal is born in Lisbon in 1966. She graduated in Theatre and Education from the Portuguese College of Theatre and Cinema (ESTC) Today she works as an actress and theatre director. As an actress, she was distinguished with the Revelation Prize 1989 and Best Actress/Theatre 1993, awarded by the cultural newspaper Sete.

As a director, she emphasizes the work of the actor framed by accurate dramaturgic lines. A period of improvisations with gradual introduction and experimentation of text and scenic materials, selected with the active participation of all the creative team, is the core of her approach.

CAUSAS COMUNS (Common Causes) arose from the need of Cristina Carvalhal to extend her activity as an actress into the field of stage direction and production.
The creative teams count on the regular participation of some collaborators and seek to bring together well-reputed creators from the most diverse fields with young values that are starting their artistic career. The aim is to continually question work methods and diversify the creative process, confronting the participants with different perspectives, training and generations of professionals.