Catarina

A young woman must carry out a deadly family tradition in Catarina, a play by Portuguese playwright Tiago Rodrigues.

"slows the world down and invites us to think" — The New York Times

Portuguese playwright Tiago Rodrigues returns to CAP UCLA with an arrestingly original theatrical work. Catarina’s family has a rather unusual tradition: each year, they come together in celebration as one family member kills a fascist at the family’s country home in the south of Portugal. When it is time for Catarina, the youngest member of the family, to carry on the legacy and kill a fascist, she finds herself unable to commit the act and questions this familial ritual. 

Catarina’s moral quandary results in chaos as the family defends and debates the ethics of their cause: What is a fascist? Is there a place for violence in the struggle for a better world? Can the rules of democracy be violated in attempts to find better ways to defend it?

Production: Teatro Nacional D. Maria II (Lisboa)
Executive production: Festival d’Avignon
Co-production: Wiener Festwochen, Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione (Modena), Théâtre de la Cité - CDN Toulouse Occitanie & Théâtre Garonne Scène européenne Toulouse, Festival d’Automne à Paris & Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, Teatro di Roma – Teatro Nazionale, Comédie de Caen, Théâtre de Liège, Maison de la Culture d'Amiens, BIT Teatergarasjen (Bergen), Le Trident – Scène nationale de Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Teatre Lliure (Barcelona), Centro Cultural Vila Flor (Guimarães), O Espaço do Tempo (Montemor-o-Novo).
Support Almeida Garrett Wines, Cano Amarelo, Culturgest

Thanks to Mariana Gomes, Rui Pina Coelho, Margarida Bak Gordon, Rita Mendes and the team of the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II. We also thank Sara Barros Leitão, Pedro Gil and Rui M. Silva who, even though they are no longer on stage with us, will always remain Catarina.
Music by Hania Rani (‘Biesy et Now,’ ‘Run’), Joanna Brouk (‘The Nymph Rising,’ ‘Calling the Sailor’), Laurel Halo (‘Rome Theme III’ et ‘Hyphae’) et Rosalía (‘De Plata’).

Support provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Endowment Fund and the NEA Challenge Grant Endowment.