Theatre takes place in a moment, a gesture, a glance, a projection of the voice that cuts through the audience. It happens for those who are there on that day, sharing that unique and unrepeatable experience. Try as we might to keep it the same, the next day will always bring differences: there will be a new audience, the same actor will be different, the spotlights slightly dimmer, the filters, the make-up, the tempo, everything changes and this is what makes each performance unique.
Our memory of these ephemeral events is something we carry with us forever; even if we are able to watch recordings of certain shows on television, our recollections of that unique moment will always remain. There are so many performances that I will never forget – at least for as long as my faculties allow.
Among all these memories are the great figures of the theatre who linger permanently in our minds and it is by sharing these moments that their legacy – their memory – can be perpetuated.
With this stamp issue devoted to the great figures of Portuguese theatre, CTT approaches a legacy that belongs to us, recalling four figures from our country’s theatre, all of whom have a centenary this year (or in the case of Francisco Taborda, a bicentenary), triggering our collective memory and making these stamps a gateway to the memory of Portuguese theatre.
Today, no one can claim to have seen Taborda acting on stage at Teatro Timbre, shining in the play Diplomata (Diplomat), but some might recall Vasco Morgado’s productions at Teatro Monumental, including A Rainha do Ferro Velho (The Queen of Scrap Metal), Boa-Noite Betina (Goodnight Betina), Esta Lisboa Que Eu Amo (This Lisbon I Love) and Lisboa Acordou (Lisbon Awoke). No doubt many will remember Henrique Santana at Teatro Variedades, with his Aqui Há Fantasmas! (There Are Ghosts Here!) – a text that he wrote and performed – particularly the 1980s version.
Others still will have seen Glicínia Quartin in Vitor Garcia’s historic staging of Jean Genet’s The Maids, alongside Eunice Muñoz and Lourdes Norberto, at the Teatro Experimental de Cascais, in 1972.
And of course, many theatre-lovers will remember Carmen Dolores for her performances at Teatro Moderno in Lisbon, during the 1960s, in O Tinteiro (The Inkwell), by Carlos Muñiz; Três Chapéus Altos (Three Top Hats), by Miguel Mihura; Dia Seguinte (Next Day), by Luís Francisco Rebello; and Shakespeare's Measure for Measure.
These are just some of the people who make theatre happen in a moment, a gesture, a glance, a projection of the voice that cuts through the audience. They are the ones we must keep alive through conversations, books, films and, of course, stamps. It is these memories of the past of which our future memories are made.
Frederico Corado
Stage Manager, Director and Programmer
