O MOCHILA – International Theater Festival for Children and Young People is back, to take, between the 5th and 14th of May, shows «with great diversity» to the municipalities of Faro, Loulé and Lagos.
With a program designed for all ages, “Mochila” returns with the aim of «continuing to invest in what is being done in the Algarve», with several free shows that take place «in cultural equipment, but also in public spaces, so that people can access and stumble in some things», says João de Brito, artistic director of LAMA Teatro, which organizes “Mochila”.
In an interview with Sul Informação, the artistic director also points out that the third edition will feature two major changes: «one of them is that the show will have an international nomenclature, which it did not have, and the other is that it will be extended to the municipalities of Loulé and Lagos», with a program consisting of theatre, music, new circus and installation, in a total of 17 artistic proposals.
The international dimension is ensured by three shows by foreign artists and companies.
“On Air”, by the Italian Andrea Fidelio, which will open this year's edition of the Festival, with open-air presentations in the city of Faro (5th of May) and on Ilha da Culatra (6th of May), and two shows by Spanish companies, also presented outdoors: “A La Fresca” (11th of May, in the Historic Center of Lagos and 12th of May in Jardim da Alameda, in Faro), by Companhia Anna Confetti, for people over 6 years old, and “Full House”, on Tram 28, for all ages (May 13th, at Praça do Infante, in Lagos and May 14th, at Cerca do Convento do Espírito Santo, in Loulé, and in Jardim da Alameda, in Faro).
In addition to these, there will be performances by national companies and artists, such as Teatro Praga, Teatromosca, Giacomo Scalisi, Mákina de Cena and LAMA Teatro, concerts by B Fachada and Mais Alto!, as well as a sound installation by Noiserv.
“Carripana”, a creation of LAMA Teatro, will be presented on the 6th of May, at Espaço Quintalão, in Faro, while “Hamlet sou eu”, by Teatro Praga, takes place on the 13th of May, at the Centro de Artes Performativas do Algarve, in Faro.
Already show “NO”, a creation by Giacomo Scalisi, against populism, is presented on the 14th at the Artistic Club Lacobrigense.
The “Gang das Mochilas”, an initiative that already crosses the three festivals, is also back.
«It's something we've been doing with the theater and show courses at Escola Secundária Tomás Cabreira, in which students walk through the city streets with their backpacks on their backs in single file. Then they end up doing some performances with the festival program, giving people who pass by a kind of artistic moment/festival presentation», explains João de Brito.
The "Gang das Mochilas" will walk through the streets of the city of Faro on the 4th, 9th and 12th of May, at 16 pm, and on the 00nd of May, at 2 am.
Despite being a festival dedicated tochildren and young people, João de Brito points out that «the shows are always for the whole family».
«We chose shows that we believe have a super important message, that speak to urgent current issues and that are important triggers for thought. That's where we want to play, at the most diverse ages, but also captivate children, from an early age, to see things they normally don't see», points out LAMA's artistic director.
On the way to the third edition, João de Brito makes a «very positive» assessment of what the festival has been like.
«The first one was really good and above our expectations. Internally, we even called it year zero, because we were coming from a pandemic and we were just trying to get our feet wet, but things went very well right away. The second year blew the scale because we invested even more in the companies, in solidified works, in a broader program and with more public spaces: which I think also attracted a lot of people to the festival», says the person in charge.
Regarding future objectives, João de Brito points out that what they want now is «to do the best possible in this edition and in the three municipalities» and, only later, will expansion to more municipalities be considered.
The complete schedule and times of each initiative can be consulted here
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