Framework

IMAGINARIUS – International Street Theatre Festival of Santa Maria da Feira is now a mature festival, with its own particular language, presenting a cohesive programme on a common theme, with connection to the most diverse artistic currents and lines of thought.

In 2023, we are going for the DREAM. For the ability to bring multicultural, multidisciplinary expressions to the public space, as well as the very particular brand of reverie one has come to expect from this festival.

The choice of theme could not be more assertive, in a year full of challenges and profound social changes worldwide. It has never been so necessary to dream and wait for dreams to come true.

When we dream, usually during sleep, we embrace a set of images and sensations, more or less realistic, which are often the projection of our desires and ambitions. There are times when we also daydream and when this happens, we say: “He has his head on the moon”.

The moon that has accompanied us for 21 years is the moon that encourages us to fantasize and experience the best that happens in street theatre worldwide.

It is also she, the moon, who accompanies us on our cobbled streets, while each one’s sensitivity discovers details or close-ups of shows, small performances or moments that truly transform our society and ourselves.

As we walk and explore, the festival allows us to grow and develop critical skills, aesthetic taste and a new appreciation for the most diverse forms of cultural expression. It also allows us to share experiences that are kept in us and that, sometimes, we revisit.

For all these reasons, from 25 to 28 May, all roads will lead to the historic centre of the city, where the artists and the public, sometimes changing roles, come together to bring colour, warmth and life to the streets.

The festival starts well before the scheduled date, in a hustle that remains unseen, translated into jitters that grow until the arrival of the moment awaited by all the participants, from the programming and production teams to the companies and technicians, from the volunteers to the public, who mark in their calendar and underline their preferences in the programme.

All these levels make up an eclectic programming network, designed to fulfil the challenge of presenting this edition of Imaginarius.

To the public, and because without them this festival would not make sense, we dare to ask a question: are you ready to dream?

PRE-FESTIVAL

In a logic of decentralization and dissemination of IMAGINARIUS in the region, the pre-festival period proposes moments of anticipated programming that meet the public, contemplating artistic performance, community participation and training/qualification.

IMAGINARIUS PRINCIPAL

In its twenty-second edition, the programming of IMAGINARIUS – International Street Theatre Festival of Santa Maria da Feira chose as its theme THE DREAM, and Morpheus (god of dreams in Greek mythology) himself could not be more proud to have a team working to achieve a programme centred on the enchantment and fantasy that we intend to provide to the public of this great event.

Dreams have different meanings and importance, depending on who interprets or tries to understand them.

For religion, oneiromancy is the prediction of the future through the interpretation of dreams.

In science, studies and research show that dreaming is related to one’s ability to fix memories, so while people dream memories of their real life are fixed in the mind.

In culture, to support the arguments about dream states, concepts related to multiculturalism are analysed and, although dreams have universal aspects and themes that are common to all cultures, they are interpreted by the particularities of the dreamer’s daily life and the community where they operate.

How does this programming relate to all these points? Through the possibility of creating a base and a sensitive memory that will last for a long time in the mind of each one, through the beauty and amazement of the projects presented.

Starting from all these concepts, a number of domestic and international projects were assembled, whose common point would be to offer the public the possibility of getting to know the most diverse multidisciplinary artistic proposals.

The Xa! Teatre company presents Aigua, a visual poetry show with a story where everything moves, just like our emotions, in a metaphor of our passage through this planet. A subtle work to learn to care; as precious as water is to quench thirst.

With residency at the António Lamoso Cine-Theatre, Bulle à Bulle by Companya Enlaire is a show created by the world-renowned artist Pep Bou, accompanied by the artist Martín Cattani, to immerse us in his fascinating world of soap bubbles.

Bulle à Bulle offers a poetic and dreamlike journey based on three simple but essential elements: water, soap and music.

A unique show with an unprecedented stage language, created by a unique artist. This creation is the result of forty years of experimentation, theoretical and practical knowledge of the world of physics and chemistry.

Cristal Palace by the French company Transe Express was specially designed for the street. A monumental chandelier will transform the public space into a ballroom. A dance floor, a bar, a suspended orchestra, acrobats, well-trained characters…

The magic happens and the ball becomes a show…

The public, invited to join in the dance, travels through time, from waltz to techno and the show turns into a ball.

La Grande Phrase by Cie Didier Théron transports fragile characters full of humour, uncertain bodies and swollen shapes to the streets of Santa Maria da Feira. The random and strange encounter is replaced by the laughter and lightness of this very peculiar invasion. They do not respect public or private space, nothing is forbidden to them and we gladly accept this interruption in our daily lives, leaving it much lighter and happier.

The World of Wonder parade by Associazione Teatro Per Caso will make the audience follow the path of these beings, in a luminous migration through the city streets. This will be one of those moments when our dreams will increase in size with the beauty of these creatures that come from remote and forgotten worlds, as heralds of happy dreams, of delicate visions and rediscovered harmony.

Al-Fanfare brings life, colour and enthusiasm wherever it goes. The sound, the movement and their contagious joy are meant to trigger the bodies of those who cross paths with them, to intervene and participate in the joviality and detachment that this group asks of us.

The conditions have been met to open the doors of this edition, to let in all those who breathe and share our will to dream, ever higher, ever further away. What about you? Are you ready to dream?

AIGUA | XA! TEATRE [ES]

BULLE À BULLE | CIE ENLAIRE [ES]

CRISTAL PALACE | CIE TRANSE EXPRESS [FR]

LA GRAND PHRASE | CIE DIDIER THERON [FR]

WORLD OF WONDER | TEATRO PER CASO [IT]

AL-FANFARE TOUR 2023 | AL-FANFARE [PT]

IMAGINARIUS INFANTIL

IMAGINARIUS Infantil is a section that is gaining increasingly more space, both because of its programming, designed for an extremely demanding and critical audience, and because it provides moments of experimentation in which the public becomes part of the interventional scenic frame.

Its preferred space is Rossio, and it is there that children, families and all those who want to experience in a relaxed way the laughter, the amazement and the magic of street arts converge.

We started with an invitation to all – no age, no rush, big or small – to draw or write their dream and hang it on a large net that embraces our wooden ship. Stay for the night, where each dream will gain an illuminated dimension.

Walking through the labyrinth that is Rossio, we enter the extraordinary world of soap bubbles that can be the size of a cent coin or the size of a person. Bufa i ReBufa, by Cia Enlaire, presents a demonstration of the potential of this technique so that the public can create an incredible and colourful universe. Afterwards, we only need strong lungs and the wind to blow them high and far away.

The next stop will be Jam’s stage… a mad hatter who uses the breaks from his tedious work to dream. And his dreams can be just as hilarious as his expressions, character by character, or rather, hat by hat.

Along the way, we find Potted, a show by La Trócola company, which combines a highly technical level of precision with basic everyday objects and others from the circus world, in an attempt to surprise and captivate their audience.

All aboard to accompany Teatro C’Art’s hybrid and bizarre vehicle, which will keep on parading until it takes up temporary residence at Imaginarius. Woow! It brings us the magic of clowns, new circus and visual comedy.

We still have time to get to know the circus of dreams that is Roda Viva by Inês de Carvalho & Cie Tu Parles Trop, a creation for the festival in its Portuguese premiere, which will take us on a journey through theatre-magic.

BUFA I REBUFA | CIA ENLAIRE [ES]

É PRECISO SONHAR PARA MUDAR O MUNDO | Nau dos Sonhos [PT]

HATS | JAM [ES]

POTTED | LA TRÓCOLA CIRC [ES]

WOOW! | TEATRO C’ART [IT]

CRIAÇÕES IMAGINARIUS

Starting from the possibility of enriching our programming content and providing a stage to companies and artists whose quality is recognized, the challenge was launched for the creation of artistic proposals to be presented during the festival.

The initial provocation and the constructive freedom of the narrative add creative value, experimentation and innovation on the part of the artists and of the most diverse connections, which they can embrace to enhance the project, they are to present.

Being processes in creation, some projects open the door to the public for the possibility of experimentation, with open rehearsals and workshops for the monitoring and sharing of the expertise by the companies.

The presentation of new creations in a public space provides an even greater scope and the possibility of creating partnerships and disseminating these creations within the networks in which Imaginarius is also inserted.

Two projects resulted from the Call to Support Local Creation. KEFALÉ, from the Teatro em Caixa company, responded to the challenge of our theme in a dystopian and dreamlike vision, in a multidisciplinary language. Also based on this creation, the company develops a workshop to allow interested parties to enter into their dream and create new, more personal narratives.

Seistopeia, in turn, brings you the wonderful world of clowns, imagination and the infinite possibilities of meeting the public, and the ability to improvise. The wandering takes place through the streets while they go fishing; after all… they are Pescadores da Lua (“Moon Fishermen”).

Danijela Zajc was the winner of Mais Imaginarius in 2022 and, therefore, in the 2023 edition, she is showing her creation Perspective’s Gravity. Alongside this creation, she developed a workshop that allowed those who participated to experiment with various forms of body movement.

The Instituto Nacional de Artes do Circo presents a creation that will make you look at the sky and verify the crossing of lines that are produced. Ponto de Partida is a funambulism proposal that creates a link between this circus technique, Kandinsky’s painting and twelve-tone musical composition.

Inês de Carvalho and the Tu Parles Trop Company  present a co-production that, based on a literary work, created an entrance and journey into a magical world using a cross-sectional language between illusion and magic, circus and dreams.

This project is divided into three distinct moments: the crossing journey and the illusions workshop, part of the Imaginarius Infantil programme, and the theatre-magic that takes place at night, for the general public.

As an Imaginarius creation, the Seistopeia company will develop a Poetic Clown Initiation workshop, as well as an open performance/rehearsal to introduce the clown technique.

A project that at first seems disconnected from the scope of this festival is Sons do Fijô, a cross between the four philharmonic bands of Santa Maria da Feira, in a contemporary register, which aims to give us a surprising look at the sound and movement of an unexpected organic unity.

After this initial oneiric collection, where it will always be possible to add dreams during the days of the festival, it is also necessary the sensitivity of the dream hunters and the strength of the winds, for all of them to come true.

RODA VIVA| INÊS DE CARVALHO & CIE TU PARLES TROP [PT/BE]

PONTO DE PARTIDA | INAC [PT]

PESCADORES DA LUA | SEISTOPEIA [EN]

PERSPECTIVE’S GRAVITY | DANIJELA ZAJC [PT]

KEFALÉ | TEATRO EM CAIXA [PT]

SONS DO FIJÔ |VALE MARTIAL BAND, BAND OF S. TIAGO DE LOBÃO, MUSIC BAND OF ARRIFANA AND MUSIC BAND OF SOUTO [PT]

MAIS IMAGINARIUS

IMAGINARIUS Infantil is a section that is gaining increasingly more space, both because of its programming, designed for an extremely demanding and critical audience, and because it provides moments of experimentation in which the public becomes part of the interventional scenic frame.

Its preferred space is Rossio, and it is there that children, families and all those who want to experience in a relaxed way the laughter, the amazement and the magic of street arts converge.

We started with an invitation to all – no age, no rush, big or small – to draw or write their dream and hang it on a large net that embraces our wooden ship. Stay for the night, where each dream will gain an illuminated dimension.

Walking through the labyrinth that is Rossio, we enter the extraordinary world of soap bubbles that can be the size of a cent coin or the size of a person. Bufa i ReBufa, by Cia Enlaire, presents a demonstration of the potential of this technique so that the public can create an incredible and colourful universe. Afterwards, we only need strong lungs and the wind to blow them high and far away.

The next stop will be Jam’s stage… a mad hatter who uses the breaks from his tedious work to dream. And his dreams can be just as hilarious as his expressions, character by character, or rather, hat by hat.

Along the way, we find Potted, a show by La Trócola company, which combines a highly technical level of precision with basic everyday objects and others from the circus world, in an attempt to surprise and captivate their audience.

All aboard to accompany Teatro C’Art’s hybrid and bizarre vehicle, which will keep on parading until it takes up temporary residence at Imaginarius. Woow! It brings us the magic of clowns, new circus and visual comedy.

We still have time to get to know the circus of dreams that is Roda Viva by Inês de Carvalho & Cie Tu Parles Trop, a creation for the festival in its Portuguese premiere, which will take us on a journey through theatre-magic.

BUFA I REBUFA | CIA ENLAIRE [ES]

É PRECISO SONHAR PARA MUDAR O MUNDO | Nau dos Sonhos [PT]

HATS | JAM [ES]

POTTED | LA TRÓCOLA CIRC [ES]

WOOW! | TEATRO C’ART [IT]

MEDIATION

Cultural mediation is one of the structural axes of IMAGINARIUS. We progressively seek to support and programme integrated projects that mobilize cultural agents, generate a sense of belonging in the public and, ultimately, leave a ballast in the local community, through effective artistic or affective social impact.

Seven initiatives will be promoted in this edition, with diverse proposals that include conceptual approaches, dynamics with community involvement, and practical activities.

The actions, with a greater or lesser degree of interaction, intend to bring the public closer to the system of creation and/or artistic experience, encouraging familiarization with the processes (conception, research, artistic residencies, interpretation and fruition) and provoking critical thinking on them.

Especially in this edition, in a process of transforming limitations into opportunities, we emphasize creative approaches, bringing the community into this sphere, either through opening the intimate space to a social “space-time”, or through the intrinsically creative, or fanciful, adaptability to carry out projects and activities of a community nature and/or involvement.