TIAGO RODRIGUES ⁄ TNDM II

These ten people have never seen the show and have no idea what poem they will have to learn in front of the audience. As he teaches them, Tiago Rodrigues recounts stories about his nearly blind grandmother in great detail mixed with stories about writers and characters from books which, in some way, are connected to his grandmother and himself. These books are also there, on the stage, inside fruit boxes. And as each pair of lines is taught to the group of 10 people, improbable connections between the Nobel Prize-winning author Boris Pasternak, a cook from northern Portugal and a Dutch TV show called “Beauty and Consolation” begin to emerge. And the mystery of the choice of poem the 10 people have to learn starts to become clear. “By Heart” is a play about the importance of transmitting stories, of the invisible contraband of words and ideas that only safekeeping a text in the memory can afford. 

Tiago Rodrigues (1977) is artistic director at the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II. An actor, playwright and stage director, his subversive and poetic style has established him as one of the most important Portuguese artists at work today. In 2003, he created Mundo Perfeito in conjunction with Magda Bizarro and created over 30 plays from 2003 to 2014 heavily based on artistic collaboration and collective processes. One of his creations, “Três dedos abaixo do joelho”, won both an SPA and Golden Globes award for “Best Theatre Show of 2012”. He was a visiting professor at the PARTS school of contemporary dance in Brussels, directed by the choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. He regularly teaches at various theatre and dance schools in Portugal and abroad.

///
POST-PERFORMANCE TALK WITH JORGE PALINHOS • SAT 17 JUN
Writer