Lígia Soares and Henrique Furtado Vieira come together for the first time in a creation to study, reproduce and reinvent artistic forms resulting from collapsing systems and, in doing so, create a collection of performances based on the historical relationship between the crisis and the emergence of different artistic avant-gardes. ‘To die for little birds’ aims to find ways of meaningfully sharing with the public the end of a world as we have known it and the possibility of a collective mourning that can confront us with non-sense, emptiness, fear, dehumanisation, but above all, with each other.
Several avant-garde art movements emerged after traumatic moments in history, moments when humanity showed new limits to its self-destructive capacity - the Great Wars or the Cold War with its atomic threat. Today, in the twenties of the 21st century, we are once again facing the ‘end of the world’. The project thus seeks inspiration from historical artistic movements that emerged in response to periods of crisis, such as Dadaism, expressionist dance and the theatre of the absurd, in order to confront current challenges, such as the environmental crisis and the feeling of powerlessness in the face of complex global systems.
This project has been underway since October 2023 and is being built residence by residence, immersed in the local context. One of the distinctive features of ‘To die for little birds’ is its focus on the active participation of the public. By directly involving local participants in the performances, the project not only democratises the creative process, but also strengthens the relationship between the artists and the community, allowing everyone to contribute to their narrative. ‘To die for little birds’ functions as a collection of performances ready to be activated and adapted to the spaces and contexts of circulation, taking advantage of their different characteristics.
COLLECTION
#1: Godôs
Henrique Furtado Vieira and Lígia Soares
Explores the theme of waiting, inspired by Samuel Beckett's play ‘Waiting for Godot’. This performance consists of trying to convince people walking down the street to go to a theatre stage. To persuade them, they use a script containing various arguments designed to overcome common objections, such as lack of time, embarrassment, and fear. While this interaction takes place on the street, the audience inside the theatre watches, seeing only the faces of the performers, which are filmed in real time with a mobile phone and shared via a Zoom connection. When passers-by (godôs) agree and are willing to go on stage, the audience gets to see their faces. The moment of encounter between the passer-by and the audience is unpredictable, which is the true richness of this proposal.
#2: Mouths
Henrique Furtado Vieira and Lígia Soares
In “Mouths”, inspired by Samuel Beckett’s play Not I, Henrique Furtado Vieira and Lígia Soares are naked and wander among the audience. Both hold a mobile phone in front of their mouths, and the phones display images of the performers' own mouths. These virtual mouths engage in a dialogue with each other. The bodies are behind the screens and react performatively. The tension between digital and physical communication is palpable, especially when the performers are confronted with the reality of their digital interactions and the disconnection that this can cause. A tragicomic performance that mirrors our relationship with technological devices and the consequent abandonment and loneliness of bodies.
#3: Apóstrof’apocalipse
with audience/participants from the creative workshop
This is a sound and text-based event that involves the audience. The audience enters a dark room, where they are immersed in darkness and surrounded by a variety of sound events (the sounds of cattle and bells, mining machines, tsunamis, war explosions) and texts that are poetic karaoke for the audience to recite aloud in unison. These karaokes are sound poems in which a fragmented language plays a playful but dizzying role in creating unavoidable phrases. The choice of themes addressed, from the intrinsic nature of words and flesh to social issues such as work, capitalism and inequality, offers the audience contact with controversial issues while actively engaging in the performance.
#4: Butôdadá
with participants from the creative workshop
In “Butôdadá”, participants from the creative workshop perform choreographed and vocal solos, exploring premises and principles inspired by Butoh dance and Dadaism. It is a vocalised dance that explores the relationship between language, face and body, leading to a state of ‘crisis’ that reveals itself in a very different way for each performer. The space is now mainly an installation or exhibition space. Spectators wander around the room and can approach each performer doing their improvised solo.
#5: Ode Triunfal (Triumphal Ode)
with Iqbal Hossain
Ode Triunfal takes its name from the poem by Álvaro de Campos (Fernando Pessoa). This performance takes place in an outdoor public space, such as a square or courtyard. It consists of a workshop led by Iqbal Hossain, a Bengali immigrant in Lisbon who sells clothing and toys on the streets of the city. Iqbal teaches spectators how to launch luminous flying toys into the sky. He distributes these toys to the spectators and explains how to make them fly high, giving various tips and examples, but also making some poetic and political considerations about the meaning of flying, working and crossing borders.
#6: Insect tasting
Interval/break
The insect tasting activity can be inserted between two performances in order to manage the transition between spaces. This invitation to take a break and relax contrasts with the impact that tasting insects for the first time has on most people. How can we prepare our stomachs for the future? How can we expand our gastronomic horizons and try to overcome our disgust through the certainty that we are finally acting in accordance with sustainability and responsible consumption? The menu consists of larvae and crickets.
#7: Post-show conversation with the audience
moderated by Chat GPT
Hello, everyone! I am ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence developed to interact and communicate through natural language. I am here today to participate in the post-show conversation about the project ‘Morrer pelos Passarinhos’ (Dying for the Birds), alongside artists Henrique Furtado Vieira and Lígia Soares. I look forward to contributing information, insights, and answers to your questions. As an AI, I do not have personal feelings or opinions, but based on my analysis of the elements provided about the project's performances, I can say that the performances appear to be intriguing, engaging, and socially conscious, addressing a variety of contemporary issues in creative and innovative ways. Participating in a post-show conversation can be a valuable opportunity for audience members to share their experiences, reflections, and questions with the artists. This can enrich the understanding of the work and promote meaningful dialogue between the creators and the audience.
