Lisbon historic theatre reopens
On October 5-6, the Variedades Theatre celebrates its reopening after 30 years closed with a free admission party.
What?
This weekend, on October 5-6, the Variedades Theatre in downtown Lisbon will once again open its doors to the performing arts after three decades closed.
To celebrate the occasion, the Theatre will offer an extensive free admission programme, which includes two plays by Ricardo Neves-Neves, Entraria Nesta Sala and The Swimming Pool Party (Sat 17.00. 20.00).
The programme will also include a concert curated by Dino D’Santiago (21.30), DJ set by Mãe Dela to close and street performances.
On Sunday there’s fado - Pedro Jóia and José Manuel Neto host Aurora - and revue theatre at Maria Vitória, DJ sets and a concert by Expresso Transatlântico (at 6.30pm).
On both days there’s dance and performance by Radar 360º and cinema at the Capitólio at 9pm: A Canção de Lisboa on Saturday and O Costa do Castelo on Sunday.
The artists LS and Mafalda MG will be creating a mural in Parque Mayer and there is also an exhibition ‘Parque Mayer seen by Lauro António’, which shows images from the retakes for a film that was never made.
Tickets can be collected on the day from 3pm at the Parque Mayer central ticket office. Each person can collect two tickets for two shows.
The complete programme can be seen here (in Portuguese).
Tell me more
Opened in 1926, according to the design of architect José Urbano de Castro, the Teatro Variedades offered variety or revue shows of the type known in Portugal as Teatro de Revista.
Between 1934 and 1940, it underwent a series of improvements and extensions, the most important of which were the replacement of the wooden roof with a metal one and the creation of a large balcony.
Until 1966, when it suffered a fire that destroyed the stage box, the Variedades was expanded and even modernised, establishing itself, along with the other Parque Mayer theatres (the Maria Matos, the Capitólio and the ABC), as one of the main stages for Portuguese comedy and revues.
Despite a new architectural intervention in the early 1990s to adapt it to the needs of television, the decline of Parque Mayer and the loss of popularity of the revue theatre led to the closure of Variedades and its decommissioning.
Since then, the desire to give Parque Mayer back to the city became a goal for both the city and Lisbon residents.
Despite so many twists, most of them worthy of inspiring very acid pictures of revue theatre, the Lisbon City Council has managed to recover the Capitólio and now the Variedades, putting what was once known as ‘Lisbon’s Broadway’ back on the map of the city's cultural offer.
Renovation project
The rehabilitation of the Variedades Theatre bears the signature of architect Manuel Aires Mateus and provides the space with “new functional structures suited to the needs of modern performance venues”, as can be read on the official website of Lisboa Cultura, the municipal company that manages the theatre.
The project aims to restore the ‘glamour’ of the iconic building, maintaining the main elements that characterise it: the portico, the foyer, the auditorium and the stage.
The two photos are two different buildings, right?The first one being the Capitolio?