A mystery in the theaters of Galicia and Portugal

Manuela Rey, Manuela Lopes Rey is more than a line in the burial record book at the Prazeres cemetery in Lisbon. It is a mystery that begins in Mondoñedo in a house in the village of San Vicente de Trigás and ends in Praça da Figueira in Lisbon. From Mondoñedo to Lisbon. From Galicia to Portugal. 671km and 23 years of life. 22 years of theater. Galicia has always been a land of emigrants and so it is not surprising that one of our main actresses spent her short life and career outside its borders, in neighboring Portugal. Manuela Rey was born in 1842 and when she died in 1867 she was an actress in the resident cast of the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II in Lisbon. Along the way, we know little .  

Who was Manuela Rey?

We know little about Manuela's life. It is believed that she was the daughter of Andrés Rey Expósito and Francisca González, who married after Manuela was born in March 1843 and that she was the oldest of eight children. At one point she was handed over to a family that was part of an iPnerante theater company. León, Palencia, Bragança, Valença, Ponte de Lima, Viana do Castelo, Régua, Porto, Lisbon. Lisbon, her final destination in November 1857, where she began working at the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II in Lisbon. Here she achieved success in great hits such as O Filho do Cego, A Alegria Traz o Susto, Fogo no Convento, Nobres e Plebeus and Um Cure de Almas.  

A writer lost in memory

It is known that Manuela wrote. And how well she did it. But only a few lines of her talent remain. Some reflections from his diaries like the one that, about men, said: "Little ones, who don't understand what a woman is like... they build a path full of thorns for her and then! Let's run away from that path! Why do they love them , then? And if the woman hands over, without being asked, her heart, they exclaim - Lowness of soul! Miserable people! Who don't know how to evaluate the great proof of selflessness and affection that the woman gives, when she thus lowers herself before the man who loves! Blind people who do not consider her as half of their soul, but rather necessary to their vanity and their whims... only to turn away from her the next day as if they were moving away from a mudhole, forgetting that days before they were those who rejoiced and rolled in this mud."

A necessary show

They say that theater should ask questions and give few answers. This project starts from this premise out of necessity and conviction. Public theaters have, among their various concerns, the protection and dissemination of their country's theatrical heritage. It seems that, whether on one side or the other of our border, we have forgotten to value one of our great actresses. Another common heritage between Galicia and Portugal lost in the memory of both territories. In this show it is almost an obligation and a duty for everyone who participates in it, to resPtuC the place that corresponds, in the history of our theater, to this great performer.

Synopsis

Manuela Rey, “the lily woman” is more than a line in the book of burials at the Prazeres cemetery, in Lisbon. It is a mystery that begins in Mondoñedo, in a village house, in 1842, and ends at the Teatro Nacional Doña María II, in Lisbon. From Mondoñedo to Lisbon. From Galicia to Portugal. 23 years of life. 23 years of theater. How can we rebuild a life where we only have loose and contradictory patches?

We know that after six years it was handed over to a traveling theater company, which traveled to Leão, Palencia, Bragança, Valença, Ponte de Lima, Viana do Castelo, Régua, Porto so that the adopted family group could reach Lisbon and triumph at the National Theatre. Dona María II and dies like a star at the age of 23. Manuela Rey is the forgotten story of Galician and Portuguese theater. Actress. Writer. In this show we try to recover what was left of her memory. Because without memory there is no History.

The Cast

Mariana Carballal

Actress

Teacher, director of cinema, theater, television and activist for gender equality in culture. She currently works as a professor of Interpretation at the Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático (ESAD de Galicia), of Direction in Audiovisual Communication at the University of Vigo, and of Camera at UMinho (Guimarães). She combines her duties as an educator with her artistic work and feminist activism. She belongs to CIMA, CYM and Galicia Critics Awards. She is part of the direction of Clásicas y Modernas and in Galicia she is coordinator of the Temporadas de Igualdad y Bibliotecas en Igualdad programs . She received the Premio Galicia en Femenino , awarded by La Xunta de Galicia in recognition of her contribution to the visibility of women in the arts and the Xociviga y Mácara de Teatro honor awards , referring to Audiovisual Ourensán y Viguesa Distinguida , in recognition of her professional career.

Neto Portela

Actor and creative support

Actor, director and theater teacher, he has a degree in Performing Arts from the Federal University of Pernambuco with a protocol at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa. He studied body expression and circus techniques in training that includes schools such as Chapitô, Armazém 13 and SESC [BR]. He was co-artistic director of CTCMCB from 2013 to 2020, where he created more than 40 shows, the ContraCena-Theatre Festival program, as well as several scenic interventions based on work on rurality, local cultural heritage and community theater. Since 2022, he has collaborated with the Teatro Nacional S. João do Porto as advisor to the SUB_18 Theater Club and was a creative artist in the Projeto Visitações – A Viagem de Saramago [2022], directed by Nuno Cardoso. He has been a resident artist at AEG1 in Gondomar since 2021.

Nuno J. Loureiro

Actor

Graduated in Theater Studies, Interpretation variant in 2003, from ESMAE - IPP, he collaborated between 2006 and 2010 with Howard Gayton, Lee Beagley and Nuno Cardoso in the Production chair, as a Staging Assistant. He has worked in a broad and diverse way on artistic, training and community projects with companies from the North of the country such as “Teatro do Noroeste”, “Visões Úteis”, “Comédias do Minho”, “Cão Danado” and “Astro Fintido ”, just to mention the most recent ones. In 2021 he joined the collective of creators in the project “Ativa Sénior – Teatro Com Seniores do Alto Minho” created by Teatro do Noroeste.

Rafaela Sá

Actress

Graduated from the Professional Interpretation Course at ACE Escola de Artes – Famalicão. In 2017 she debuted with "Mulheres-Tráfico" directed by Manuel Tur. Since then she has been part of the cast of numerous productions: "Das Tripas, Coração"-99: Um Ano para o Teatro Nacional São João, directed by Nuno M. Cardoso and Nuno Cardoso; "(The Tragedy) of Júlio César" directed by Luís Araújo in a production Ao Cabo Teatro with co-production Teatro Nacional São João and São Luiz Teatro Municipal, "Terror e Miséria na Queda da Democracia" productions by the Os Quatro Ventos Theater Company; "A Noite" by José Saramago and "Guerra de Sexos" rewritten and staged by Ricardo Simões, both productions by Teatro do Noroeste.

Raquel Crespo

Actress

Graduated from the El Ruiseñor theater and dance school and graduated in Gestual Interpretation from the Escola de Arte Dramática de Galicia (ESADG) in 2019. She began her professional career as an actress in the show 5 mulleres que comen tortilla, by the company Señora Supina. In 2020, she was selected and joined the cast of the play Serva me, servabo te, produced by the Centro Dramático Galego in co-production with the company Prácido Domingo. In 2021, combining the work of costume designer and actress, she is part of the team of Hotel Europa, written by Ernesto Is for the company Señora Supina. Among her latest works, Cubo, by the Galician company Elefante Elegante, stands out.

Teresa Vieira

Actress

Graduated in Theater - Interpretation variant by ESMAE. She began her theatrical activity in 1994 at the amateur theater of Sporting Clube Candalense (VN de Gaia). In 1999 she had her first professional experience, at TEP with the play “É uma Só a Liberdade”, staged by Noberto Barroca. She worked with directors João Mota, Nuno Cardoso, Fernando Mora Ramos, António Durães, Luís Varela, Geoff Beale, Júlio Cardoso, Ruben Marks, João Sousa Cardoso, Óscar Branco, Roberto Merino and Howard Gayton. She works with theater for children and school audiences, as a staging assistant, in short films, feature films, institutional videos and advertising. In 2019, she staged the show “A Praça das Memories” by the theater group at Universidade Sénior do Marco de Canaveses.

Xosé Lois Romero

Musical composer and performer

He is one of the relevant names in current Galician music. Accordionist, percussionist, composer, promoter and teacher. His trajectory is linked to some of the most important moments and artists in the recent history of music in Galicia, which includes, from his own projects (Nova Galega de Danza, aCadaCanto, Vaamonde, Lamas e Romero or Aliboria), collaboration with others Galician and foreign projects (Baiuca, C. Tangana, Mercedes Peón, Fuxan os Ventos, etc.), participation in scenic shows (Centro Coreográfico Galego, C. Dramático Galego, Quique Peón Cía, Ballet Rei de Viana,...) to several promotional publications (Fur and wood, Doce leg warmers, Galeoke,...). XOSÉ LOIS Awarded on numerous occasions, he has 3 Marpn Codax Galician Music Awards.

 The Creators

Fran Nuñez

Playwright and Director 

Director of the Centro Dramático Galego since 2020, he has a PhD in Communication from the University of Vigo, a PhD in Applied Economics from the University of Santiago de Compostela, a Master's degree in Performing Arts and Performance Theory from the Universidad del País Vasco, a Master's degree in Economics of Culture and Cultural Management from University of Valladolid, Degree in Advertising and Public Relations from the University of Vigo and Higher Degree in Dramatic Art from ESAD in Galicia. Founder of Limiar theater and Teatro del Hereje, with whom he has staged more than 20 productions. He has collaborated with national and international companies and entities, such as the Centro Dramático Galego, the Teatro de la Zarzuela, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Goliardos, the Teatro Español de Madrid, Ship of Fools, Boccaccione, the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II , Braga Theater Company or Compañía Nacional de Teatro de México. He has participated in European projects such as the He-Arts network and has carried out numerous scenic interventions in historical heritage and natural spaces.

Paula Ballesteros

Investigating archaeologist at INCIPIT/CSIC

An archaeologist and actress, she focuses her research process on observing and analyzing the Galician rural landscape as a palimpsest of continuous human intervention over time, but also as an extinct social reality. Since Incipit- CSIC, it has been part of several R + D + i projects, among which highlights the work carried out in the Parque Nacional das Illas Atlánticas de Galicia that will result in the audiovisual exhibition ONSSOA (2021) produced by the Museo do Pobo Galego for the 16MICE. Or projects related to intangible heritage such as ViteArquiva (2020), a platform that archives the social memory of a neighborhood in Santiago de Compostela. As an actress she combines scenic creation with knowledge acquired from Social Sciences. 

Nuno Meira

Light Designer

He has developed his work exclusively as a lighting designer since 1995, collaborating with several creators in the areas of theater and dance, with particular emphasis on Ana Luísa Guimarães, António Cabrita & São Castro, António Júlio, António Lago & Susana Chiocca, Beatriz Batarda, Gonçalo Waddington, Ivo Alexandre, Jacinto Lucas Pires, Joana Providência, João Cardoso, João Pedro Vaz, João Reis, Luís Araújo, Manuel Wiborg, Marco Martins, Marta Pazos, Né Barros, Nélia Pinheiro, Nuno Cardoso, Nuno Carinhas, Paulo Ribeiro, Tiago Guedes, Tiago Rodrigues, Ricardo Pais, Rui Lopes Graça and Sara Barbosa. He was a founding member of Teatro Só (1995) and Cão Danado e Companhia (2001), is a member of ASSÉDIO (since 1998) and is a regular collaborator of Companhia Paulo Ribeiro (since 2001) and Arena Ensemble (since 2007). In 2004, he was awarded the Ribeiro da Fonte Revelation Prize and in 2022 the prize for best lighting at the XXVI María Casares Theater Awards with the show “OTHELLO” by the Voadora company, staged by Marta Pazos.

Guilherme de Sousa

Movement Support

After completing basic education, as well as the 5th grade of clarinet and musical training, he entered the Academia Contemporânea do Espetáculo (ACE). She continued to study theater at ESMAE-Variante Interpretação. After completing her studies in 2016, she attended the Postgraduate Course in Contemporary Dance, promoted by ESMAE and the Teatro Municipal do Porto-Rivoli. In 2019, the highlight is the replacement of the piece “Mirror Piece” by Joan Jonas, as part of her retrospective presented at the Serralves Museum. In 2017, together with Pedro Azevedo, he won the "Campo de Batalha" grant promoted by Teatro Municipal do Porto with the project "VANISH", and the "Happy Together" competition with the project "Horto - Uma forma que vem do touch" , a partnership between Mala Voadora and CM do Porto within the scope of the Forum of the Future. In 2019, together with Pedro Azevedo, she founded the cultural association BLUFF, based in Porto. He was a Young ArKsta Associate at Teatro Municipal do Porto, in a duo with Pedro Azevedo.

Pedro Azevedo

Scenographer and Costume Designer 

He began his training at Escola Secundária de Santa Maria da Feira, on the Visual Arts course. She finished her degree in Theater at ESMAE in 2017. At the same time, he has been participating in projects and workshops from various creators or companies. Since 2016, in co-creation with Guilherme de Sousa, she has developed projects that combine visual and performing arts, developing a special interest in theater, dance and installation. In December 2019 they founded BLUFF, a cultural association based in Porto. In a duo with Guilherme de Sousa she was Young Associate Artist at Teatro Municipal do Porto for the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons. In March 2023, receive the AGEAS Teatro Nacional D. Maria II Revelation Award.

A show about the craft of theater, about memory and about how the passage of time shapes our landscape, our theater.