At first, the name may be strange and refer to the purge that Hitler made of his opponents, in the distant year of 1934. But this will not happen in Monchique and Marmelete, as of this Thursday, 15th of March. The medronho is once again the backdrop for the theater, in “Noites das Facas Longas” which are divided into two shows: “Tudo Numa Noite” and “Serra”.
Giacomo Scalisi is the mentor of this “Lavrar o Mar” project, integrated in the “365Algarve”. In conversation with Sul Informação, he explained that the name “Night of Long Knives” was inspired by the fact that this show wanted to be the “night where everything happens and becomes clear”.
After the first edition last year, the trilogies of Afonso Cruz and Sandro William Junqueira, the authors of the texts of this theatrical performance that have the medronho distilleries as stage.
Everything is done in continuity with the last edition, always discovering the alchemical rituals of the distillation of arbutus and in the rhythm of the stories that are being told.
The first show will be “Everything in a Night”, on the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th of March, starting at 19 pm, in Monchique. The meeting point is at the village's Helipad. From there, there will be transport to the distillery where the fights by the medronho between the Monteiro and the Capote.
«We are going to have three characters from our Monchiquense Romeo and Juliet. We've already listened to Teodoro and Filomena and now we're going to have Ezequiel, Teodoro's brother», revealed Giacomo Scalisi.
Unraveling a little of what the story will be, written by the Algarve writer Sandro William Junqueira, we now discover that it was Ezequiel who plotted “Teodoro's whole life”.
To accompany, there will be, of course, arbutus! But not only: tiborna, bread with chorizo, bread with pork rinds and a dance, Monchique fashion, at the end.
The second show will be “Serra”, in the village of Marmelete, on the 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th of March, starting at 19 pm.
“Marmelete is halfway between Monchique and Aljezur and, for us, it made a lot of sense to have a meeting point in these two villages,” said Giacomo.
In “Serra”, there will be three distilleries to visit. One of them will be the Casa do Medronho, which is the meeting point for the show. Three groups are going to hear three stories, always in the feminine, by Afonso Cruz.
One of the interpreters will be Marta Gorgulho, who spoke with the Sul Informação right after the first rehearsal. The actress confessed to having accepted Giacomo's invitation for being "a challenge". As for what to expect from his interpretation, he said that he is still "immersing himself in the text".
And what is this text talking about? «Tell us about the experiences in the Serra, about what life is like in these territories. It is a way to close the beautiful story of Afonso Cruz», which began last year, explained Giacomo Scalisi.
Here, the show will take place at the rhythm of dinner. In one distillery, the starter is served, in the other the main course and, in the last, the dessert.
And not only theater and food will make this show. There will be balls at the end of each performance, as well as a “grand ball” at the end of every performance, in the “middle of Marmelete”.
All productions of “Lavrar o Mar” have been, this year, a success. Many have even had a full house, something that surprises Giacomo Scalisi. But, the truth is that there is a goal for these “Nights of the Long Knives”: “we always run out”.
For now, there are already many tickets sold, but there is still time to purchase your ticket. here
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