Marco Mendonça

Marco Mendonça and his team will be in residency at Moussem from May 1st until the 11th - working on his solo performance Blackface.

Blackface will oscillate between stand-up and fantasy, satire and physical theatre, burlesque and documentary. On stage, Marco Mendonça intends to explore the performativity and history of blackface as a racist theatrical practice — from its roots in the USA to cases in Portugal — as he searches for the limits of what can or cannot be represented on stage. As we look at the extensive library of events in which this racist practice was used to portray Black people as inferior members of Portuguese society, can we really believe that racism doesn’t exist in Portugal?

Blackface is produced by Alkantara and will premiere at Alkantara Festival 2023. This residency is part of the exchange program for artist residencies between the Alkantara Festival and Moussem Nomadic Arts Centre.

On May 11th - at 3.30pm - we're organising an artist talk in which Marco will share his working process with an audience. If you would like to attend, you can reserve your spot by emailing annelore@moussem.be

Direction, creation and interpretation: Marco Mendonça
Creation Support: Bruno Huca
Dramaturgy Support: Gisela Casimiro
Light Design: Rui Monteiro
Music: Mestre André
Costumes: Aldina Duarte
Coproduction: Teatro do Bairro Alto
Production: Alkantara

photo : Tiago Moura