Dates / Schedules
Thursday, March 12th 2026 8:00pm Extra Date
Friday, March 13th 2026 8:00pm
Saturday, March 14th 2026 7:00pm
Sunday, March 15th 2026 5:00pm
Performed in Portuguese, English, Bengali and Nepali; surtitled in Portuguese
Accessibility: Performance with Portuguese Sign Language interpretation on 15 March
Theatre
By the time Marco Martins was considering working from An Enemy of the People, by Ibsen, as a logical development of the interest on the conflict between the individual and the collective as a main theme in his creations, on December 19, 2024, the Portuguese Public Security Police (PSP) carried out a special crime prevention operation on Rua do Benformoso, in Lisbon, an artery inhabited and frequented mainly by immigrants from the Asian subcontinent, mainly from Bangladesh. The street was closed and about 60 people were forced to face the wall, with their hands above their heads for about two hours. Their bodies forced into a position difficult to maintain for so long, simultaneously hiding their faces.
The images, ent viral and sparked a debate about the legitimacy of the operation and the means used, Working closely with that community and considering the image of those defenseless bodies deprived of dignity, Marco Martins proposes a reflection about the way in which the media and political parties from different spheres manipulate the image of these people without ever truly giving them a voice.
As has been the case throughout Marco Martins’ extensive career in theatrical work with specific communities, the play – following an invitation from Braga/Capital of Culture 2025 and the co-production and complicity of Centro Cultural de Belém, Teatro Municipal do Porto and Théâtre de Liège, will be anchored in the biographies of the people who were put against the wall and will depart from the physical experience of that situation.
An investigation is already being developed by journalists Joana Pereira Bastos and Raquel Moleiro, with the help of Rana Uddin, leader of the Bangladeshi community, to meet the people who were targeted by the operation and will simultaneously be the cast at the core of this piece.
The play An Enemy Of The People, the new creation by Marco Martins based on Ibsen’s original play, is the artistic proposal chosen by the CCB to be the co-production project of the Prospero NEW network. The CCB takes on the role of main co-producer, already counting on the collaboration of the Théâtre de Liège.
This performance uses strobe lights.
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The Centro Cultural de Belém Foundation reserves the right to collect, store and use recordings of image, sound and voice, for the purposes of dissemination and for preserving the memory of its cultural and artistic activities, as well as its spaces. Should you require any further information, please contact us at the following email address: privacidade@ccb.pt
An Enemy of the People (c) Lais Pereira
An Enemy of the People (c) Lais Pereira
An Enemy of the People (c) Lais Pereira
An Enemy of the People (c) Lais Pereira
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Ages
+16
Data sheet
Direction and Dramaturgy Marco Martins
Text Marco Martins, based on testimonies from the entire cast, the research of Joana Pereira Bastos and Raquel Moleiro, and works by Henrik Ibsen, Thomas Ostermeier, Florian Borchmeyer, Elias Canetti, Georges Didi-Huberman, Roger Caillois, Hannah Arendt, Cesare Pavese, Hein De Haas, Claire Touzard, Adília Lopes, and Robert Peckham, Marguerite Duras and Pier Paolo Pasolini
With Amin Nurul, Dil Bahadur Ale, Janit Fernandes, Kamal Chowdhury, Kamal Sarder, Niraj Khadka, Rajib Al Mamun, Sabera Parvin, Sharker Nasrin, Shohel Rana and Rita Cabaço and Rodrigo Tomás
Vocal Composition and Chorus with the Cast Rabih Beaini
Original Music and Sound Composition Rabih Beaini
Original Music João Pimenta Gomes
Assistant Director and Dramaturgy Support Rita Quelhas
Assistant Director Support Alexandra Petrovskaya
Lighting Design Nuno Meira
Set Design Isabel Cordovil and João Romão (xxxi.studio)
Set Construction Artworks
Sound Design Vitor Santos
Technical Direction Pedro Moreira
Movement Lua Carreira and Maria Fonseca
Movement Workshop Hugo Marmelada
Sound Workshop João Pimenta Gomes
Interview Transcription Gabriela Dias
Cast Research José Pires
Photography André Príncipe and Beatriz Banha
Texts for Publication, Bárbara Reis, Joana Pereira Bastos, Marco Martins, Matilde C. and Raquel Moleiro
Publication Design Atelier Pedro Falcão
Translation Joana Frazão
Administration Arena Marta Delgado Martins
Management and Production Direction Sérgio Azevedo
Executive Production Hugo Alves Caroça
This production was developed with the support of the PROSPERO NEW Platform and co-financed by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.
Main Co-production CCB
Co-production Teatro Municipal do Porto, Theatro Circo / Braga 25 – Portuguese Capital of Culture, and Théâtre de Liège – Théâtre d’Europe and Schaubuhne
Support Portuguese Republic – Culture, Youth and Sports | DGArtes – Directorate-General for the Arts, Goethe-Institut Portugal Artworks and PreZero
Acknowledgements Aditya Saxena, Abdul Wahid Khalizad, Ashraf Emdi Uddin, Fahima Begum, Farhana Akter, Farid Ahmed Patwari, Francisca Neves, Komal Shahazdi, Mazumder Mohamed, Mizan Mizan, Mohamed Fakhrul, Nelson Gomes (Filho Único), Pemba Sherpa, Rasel, Renovar A Mouraria, Sabee Shrestha, Sandip Busal, Saurav Baishnab, Zakiur Rahman, Fundação Arpad Szenes–Vieira da Silva and Museu Nacional do Teatro e da Dança
Photo: Daniel Rocha
Discounts
DISCOUNTS are only valid for CCB production and/or co-production shows and for tickets with a price above €12, with the exception of CCB cardholders, the discount is applied to values above €8.
50 % people with specific needs and accompanying person
50% for Arts and culture professionals
50% for unemployed
30% for CCB Card’s holders (individual, Senior, Youth and Family)
20% for people over 65 / for under 30s / students / for groups of more than 20 people
Tickets at €5 for Artistic Schools