Janela Aberta Theatre wins best show award at Almagro Festival

Inspired by the life and work of Luís Vaz de Camões, marking the 500th anniversary of the birth of the author of 'The Lusiads', 'Cabo das Tormentas' has dramaturgy and direction by Diana Bernedo and Miguel Martins Pessoa, and "intertwines the history of Portugal and Europe with the challenges of the present", also constituting "a tribute to the forgotten, to the poets and to the eternal influence of Camões", according to the synopsis of the work.

Presented in Almagro last Friday, July 25, 'Cabo das Tormentas' returns to the stage today for the closing session, as the best contemporary show of the classical theater festival of the city of the community of Castile -- La Mancha.

According to the Portuguese company, the play 'Cabo das Tormentas' was presented in its original version, in Portuguese, with Spanish subtitles, combining "texts by great writers such as Luís Vaz de Camões, Florbela Espanca, Fernando Pessoa, Jeanette Winterson and José Saramago."

"A critical epic about the discoveries, in a contemporary incursion into the universe of a group of beggars, in which the spirit of Luís Vaz de Camões is revealed through the torments of one of them, in an interweaving of moments in the history of Portugal and the world, with contemporary reality", 'Cabo das Tormentas' is "a look at memory, old age and oblivion, on a journey of comings and goings on the waves of the sea, where storms mix with reality, fiction and the song of sirens", describes Janela Aberta Teatro.

For the Spanish press, "the work is a harmonious and impactful fusion of text with Physical Theater, contemporary Mime and Dance, in a bold dramaturgy by Diana Bernedo and Miguel Martins, which captivated the audience and the jury, who awarded the cast, artistic and technical team with a standing ovation."

According to journalist Paco Alberola, from AlicanteMAG Magazine, former director of the Elche Festival de Teatro y Música Medieval, who attended Friday's session, "'Cabo das Tormentas' sweeps like a biblical storm."

'Cabo das Tormentas' competed for the award for best contemporary drama show with the Spanish productions 'Las bizarrías', by Campanhia Reverso, 'Free Britney', by Campanhia Merienda Dramática, and 'Las preciosos ridículas', by Campanhia Arroz, with Costra Producciones and Marcos Altuve.

The play is performed by Pedro Monteiro, Miguel Martins Pessoa, Teresa Manjua, Fernando Cabral, Daniela Veiga and Catarina Ferreira.

Thirty-five plays, workshops and gastronomy tastings, a craft fair, musical and dance performances, exhibitions and craft workshops made up this year's edition of the Spanish classical theater festival, which began on July 3rd and ends today, with the return to the stage of the Faro company.

In addition to Janela Aberta Teatro, the Almagro Festival also featured the Portuguese company Chapitô, which brought to Spanish stages the collective creation 'King Lear', based on the classic by William Shakespeare, directed by José C. García.