Hecyra

"This is a story narrated in a play that the audience of its time did not understand. But that the audience of our time understands very well. Because it speaks of what we fear most: misunderstanding, isolation, the voice in the wilderness. And of so many other evils no one can overcome: the weight of social conventions, quick or prefabricated judgments, taboos, authoritarianism, ingratitude, short memory… The inhumanity against which Terence wanted to fight."

Walter de Medeiros

"When the lack of communication settles between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law the worst can be expected. No one is surprised, therefore, that, in the absence of the husband, the young woman takes refuge in the warmth of her father’s house. The mystery thickens when she remains at her parents’ house after her husband’s return. What happened?! It is not, however, part of the popular anecdotes that the mother-in-law, without realizing the reason of the quarrel, wants to leave the scene so that her beloved son and his wife find conjugal harmony. The selflessness of the mother-in-law Sostrata, who prefers to retire to the countryside; the affection of her husband Laches who decides to go with her; the dedication of the son, Pamphilus, who chooses his mother to the detriment of his beloved; the generosity of Bacchis, the courtesan, who consents to humble herself for the benefit of her lover’s conjugal happiness, these are situations so unusual that they even make you want to laugh! Great must be the novelty, to motivate such decisions and awaken the best in human nature… Comedy does not always make men worse than they are… The truth is in the ring."

José Luís Brandão

Stage manager: Nelson Henrique

Cast

Amélia Álvaro de Campos (Laches)

Ana Seiça Carvalho (Bacchis)

Cristina Gonçalves (Syra and Myrrina)

Daniela Pereira (Philotis, Sosia and nanny)

Elise Cardoso (violin and slave)

José Luís Brandão (Phidippus)

Nelson Henrique (Parmeno)

Stephanie Barreiros (Pamphilus)

Tânia Mendes (Sostrata)