The new Teatrão creation, “The Time of the Trees”, will invite children and adults to explore, in January in Coimbra, the meaning of community and growth, through trees that beneath the earth connect in a complex way.
“The trees are a metaphor for speaking about growth” and about how “we relate to one another,” said today the director João Santos, in an open rehearsal for journalists at the Municipal Theatre Workshop (OMT) in Coimbra.
The play “The Time of the Trees”, which will be on stage at the OMT between January 10 and 24, is an original idea by Isabel Craveiro, created by Teatrão, in co-production with the University of Coimbra’s Botanical Garden and in partnership with Vila Verde Kindergarten.
Although they may seem solitary, the trees “are all linked underground,” representing “a beautiful example of life in a community”: they help one another in terms of resource sharing, warning of threats and even the canopies organize themselves so that all can have light, explained João Santos.
“This is a beautiful metaphor of a growth ideal and of community life from a more collaborative perspective,” which will be present in the show.
The creation also delves into the concept of growth, as will be demonstrated throughout the children’s show, whose set features a tree made of threads, which gradually takes shape in front of the audience.
“There is a growth that is visible and one that is invisible. Sometimes what seems to be important is that only the visible part is given importance, particularly in children, and the invisible part, what is inside us, is equally important,” emphasised the director.
Prepared from laboratories of scientific and artistic research, the story follows the path that two children take to discover a tree more striking than those commonly seen in cities.
According to João Santos, “the show is about the possibility of relating to one another in other ways, not only with nature, but with ourselves,” being aimed at younger audiences, but also at the broader public.
The play will have performances every Saturday, at 17:00, and will also be shown to school audiences, from January 6 to 23, with audio-description services and interpretation in Portuguese Sign Language on January 10.
In addition to the new creation, there are two parallel activities, one of them also on the next day the 10th, when a guided visit to the University of Coimbra Botanical Garden will be carried out.
On the 17th and 24th, after the show, parents and children can participate in a workshop exploring the set.
Tickets for the show, intended for ages three and up, are available at the OMT, at Ticketline outlets and online.
Until midnight on January 7, there is an exclusive offer for families.
