Apocalypse according to Alpha e Beta
Review published by Magazine.HD, on September 28th, 2019
Apocalypse according to Alpha and Beta and living in an agonistic world where “life and death sign a peace agreement” Where does the rehearsal separate from the finished theatrical creation and how do beings separate themselves in a post-apocalyptic world? Both questions have the same core: the orchestrated relationship between the creator and creation.
Apocalypse according to Alpha e Beta portrays a world long after the fall of current society, where the genetic code of the population now determines that there will only be tall and short humans. Humans, not people, since this last concept could be directly linked to the notion of civilization, something that, in diegetic time, had been dismantled. In the play, on stage, there are seven actors, seven stars. After all, seven humans and a puppeteer whose role is to have fun with their creations, giving them the feeling of freedom and free will, of failure and error, but who in fact, in any situation establishes lines that guide the action previously outlined.
It’s a play that requires the active involvement of the spectator, not being immediately understandable, but this same game of perceptions being one of the points in favor of the play and one of the reasons why it is an appealing creation. It invites each member of the audience to retrace the sequences and constant temporal jumps that create an orchestrated diegesis on large layers of intertextuality. It results in a fusion of mythologies (never trying to hide its origin) about the apocalypse, creating a new guise for the end of time: the one that follows according to Alpha and Beta.
With choreography by Raquel Santos, sequences of impeccable body images are created on stage. The representation is carried out by Afonso Molinar, Bruno Soares, Filipa Correia, Gabriela Sousa, Mariana Rebelo, Martyn Gama, Raquel Santos and Rui Westermann. The performance, which is very much based on movement perfectly linked to the dramaturgical construction, is performed on a stage with extremely simple but effective scenic elements. In fact, the aesthetic choice only gives strength to the artistic collective, directing the public's attention and focusing it.
This new creation by teatroàfaca elevates the work of the collective that debuted with Upside Down Cuppa Coffee. Also because it is the exploration of a concrete theatrical form, Apocalypse according to Alpha and Beta reaffirms that young theater in Portugal not only exists but also has a strength that is sometimes lacking on larger stages.
Apocalypse according to Alpha e Beta will be on stage until September 29th, at Espaço Escola de Mulheres (Clube Estefânia), at 9:30 pm, with tickets priced at €12.