ABC da Guerra is a programme aimed at reflection designed and led by João Sousa Cardoso, based on the reading and analysis of works of modern and contemporary drama related to the topic of war. The series includes national and international authors and runs from January to November 2025, on a monthly basis, in the Mário Viegas room at São Luiz Theatre. In each session, in a hybrid format between lecture and theatre, João Sousa Cardoso, a university professor and essayist, analyses the text as a whole (aesthetic, sociological, political) and in its particular aspects (formal, author’s commentary, intertextuality) while an actress/actor reads extracts from the play in close dialogue with critical reflection on global disorder and the spectre of a new armed conflict in Europe.
30 September | Blasted, by Sarah Kane (1995) with Ricardo Teixeira
28 October | Tina M., by Eduarda Dionísio (2001) with Joana Bárcia
18 November | Señora Carrar’s Rifles, by Bertolt Brecht (1937), with Lia Gama
Book Launch ABC da Guerra
A book by João Sousa Cardoso that brings together ten in-depth essays based on the ten dramatic texts studied in the reflection cycle on theatre and war that took place at São Luiz from January to November 2025, as well as a retrospective analysis and visual documentation of the sessions and the actors who offered us readings of the texts each month.
Published by Documenta. ABC da Guerra will be launched in 2026.
