What would have been the expectations of a ten-year-old child from Calheta de Nesquim on the island of Pico in the mid-nineteenth century? We don’t know, but we’ll get to know the life of Joe Silvey, or at least many Josés Silva, who traveled the world. This is the aim of the Cães do Mar company, based in Angra do Heroísmo, coming to the Madalena Auditorium with its latest theatrical production.
“The Ballad of Portuguese Joe” is the story of an Azorean who eventually went to Canada and made a successful life for himself. It’s a story of emigration and entrepreneurship but deals with xenophobia, racism, and the possibilities and difficulties of a multicultural society. These are recognizable and relatable themes for Azoreans.
The play is comic in form but has a seriousness at its core. The conscious use of popular forms of performance is a deliberate theatrical strategy. “We want to entertain people and invite them to see things differently,” admits director Ana Brum. “And, like all of Cães do Mar’s work, it’s original. Text, music, puppets, and drawings were created for this play. We used different methodologies: puppets, physical theater, music, to achieve a more inclusive, universal, and poetic language.”
This show features the actors Ricardo Ávila and Hélder Xavier, the musician and composer João Félix, plastic design by Sílvia Fagundes, costumes by Sílvia Teixeira, dramaturgy and composition by Peter Cann and staging by Ana Brum.
“The Ballad of Portuguese Joe” is a project supported by DGArtes, DRAC, and CMAH; the presentation in Pico is possible through MiratecArts and a partnership with Madalena Town Hall, and the Madalena Auditorium and Library, the epicenter of the twelfth edition of the Azores Fringe Festival. For more programming, visit azoresfringe.com and follow the social networks of MiratecArts and the Azores Fringe Festival.