'Juliet and Romeo' premieres at Teatro da Trindade this week

Inês Pires Tavares and Ivo Arroja star as Juliet and Romeo, respectively, in this "modern-day story", inspired by Shakespeare's classic 'Romeo and Juliet', according to the presentation text by Teatro da Trindade/Inatel.

The two young people fall in love in a theater group: Juliet, "daughter of a xenophobic politician", and Romeo, "son of migrants".

As they rehearse Shakespeare's play, the boundaries between fiction and reality blur, with their lives becoming "intertwined with the tragedy they are enacting," according to the play's synopsis.

In this "contemporary rewriting" by the author of 'King Lear', "each scene is an attempt, a possible detour from the inevitable destiny, testing the resistance of love to its choices, to chance and to the past that each one carries."

"It doesn't matter whether Romeo and Juliet die in the end, what matters is how they die this time," concludes the synopsis of the work.

"Julieta & Romeo -- a play for a pair of star-crossed lovers", by Ricardo Correia, was the winning text of the 7th edition of the Miguel Rovisco Prize -- New Theatrical Texts.

Born in Barcelos in 1977, Ricardo Correia graduated in Theatre and holds a PhD in Artistic Studies from the University of Coimbra, with the project 'Politics, Resistance and Dramaturgical Practice in Contemporary Times -- A Case Study'. He teaches Theatre and Education at the Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra and was a visiting assistant in Artistic Studies at the University of Coimbra.

According to the actor and playwright's agency page, Ricardo Correia has worked with directors such as Bruno Gascon ('Homeland', 2023), Luísa Pinto and Carlos Coelho Costa ('Prodigal Son', 2019), Patrícia Sequeira ('Snu', 2018), Henrique Oliveira ('Free Cuba'), João Cayatte ('North Wind'). He also participated in productions such as 'Braga', 'Amar de Mais', 'Terra Brava', 'A Prisioneira', from different television channels.

He made his professional acting debut in 2001 at the Teatro Nacional de S. João in Porto, after previously being part of the Teatro Universitário do Minho. Since then, he has worked with various directors on "more than 40 theater performances."

In 2008, he founded Casa da Esquina -- Associação Cultural in Coimbra, for the development of transdisciplinary creation, investing in original dramaturgy, mediating between reality and fiction, of the archive as a practice, involving the documentary, the autobiographical, post-memory and the questioning of territory, in creations that he has already presented on national stages and in Germany, Brazil, Spain and the United Kingdom.

'War Letters 61-74', 'Crisis of 69 -- The Year We Dreamed Dangerously', 'The Museum of Consciousness', 'From the Heart' and 'I Use Thermotebe and My Father Too' are among some of his creations.

He holds a Master's degree in Theatre, specializing in Directing, from the Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema. He was a Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation scholarship holder at the London International School of Performing Arts in 2013. He is a researcher at CEIS20 -- Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of the 20th Century at the University of Coimbra.

Ricardo Correia is the author of "around a dozen texts for theater", with plays published by the University of Coimbra Press, the National Theater D. Maria II & Bicho do Mato ('Call Center'), the Little Theater Books of the United Artists ('I Use Termotebe and My Father Too') and the Húmus Editions ('Letters from the War 61-74 - Aerograma Liberdade').

'My Country Is What the Sea Doesn't Want and Other Plays', a collection of his theatrical texts from 2014 to 2017, was published by the University of Coimbra Press.

Internationally, his works have been published by the Autonomous University of Nuevo León, in Mexico, and Les Presses Universitaires du Midi, in France.

The Miguel Rovisco Prize -- New Theatrical Texts is awarded annually by Teatro da Trindade and aims to encourage the writing of original works in Portuguese in the field of theater. It includes a cash prize of 3,000 euros, the publication of the text in book form, and the production of the play at Trindade, with the performance recorded and broadcast by RTP, a co-production between the two entities.

As part of the award, the text will also be published in the Teatro da Trindade Inatel edition collection. The launch will take place on the 11th, after the play's premiere.

On stage until October 26, 'Julieta e Romeu' has performances from Wednesday to Sunday, at 7:00 pm.

The set design is by Henrique Pimentel, the lighting design by Pedro Gonçalves and the music and sound design by Afonso de Portugal.

After the October 12th session, there will be a conversation with the public.