São João National Theatre debuts second in-house production during the centenary of its main building

The year 2020 marks the Centenary of the National Theatre São João (TNSJ) main building and this is the second in-house production that is delivered to mark this occasion. The performance “O Balcão”, staged by Nuno Cardoso, artistic director of the TNSJ follows the “Castro” performance, which debuted last March. “O Balcão” took to the stage on 17th November and will be staged until the 21st November.

This play was first presented in 1956, by the French playwright Jean Genet, and it closes the “Inauguration trilogy” by the artistic director of TNSJ, which debuted in 2019 with the show “A Morte de Danton” (Danton’s Death).

“Filled with lure and eroticism, the performance takes place in a luxury brothel, a place where an ongoing revolution is echoed. This play, considered the most ambiguous and the most terrible by Jean Genet, approaches a more obscure side to issues such as lust and the end of life”, explains São João National Theatre in a press release.

The text was translated by Regina Guimarães and the performance includes actors as Afonso Santos, Joana Carvalho, João Melo, Maria Leite, Mário Santos and Rodrigo Santos, António Parra, Margarida Carvalho and Sérgio Sá Cunha.

The play “O Balcão” is on stage from Tuesday to Friday, at 7pm, and on Saturday at 10am. Tickets range from 7, 5 and 16 euros.

All preventive health measures are in place, under the State of Emergency and the pandemic, namely reduced seat availability, physical distancing, wearing face masks at all times, hand sanitisers and one route circuits, to ensure the safety of both staff and visitors.