Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists

FESTIVAL D'AVIGNON / TEATRO NACIONAL D. MARIA II

Written & directed by Tiago Rodrigues

This Portuguese family kills fascists. They’ve been doing it for over 70 years. Today marks a special occasion – the initiation of Catarina, one of their youngest, into the family tradition.

But she’s not going to do it.

A new play by Tiago Rodrigues contemplates our responsibility for the future of democracy, as individuals and as a society. Is violence an option when we fight for a better tomorrow? The production tackles its weighty issues with compassionately present performances and minimalist stage design.

Actor-director-playwright Tiago Rodrigues is one of Europe’s leading theatremakers and artistic director of the acclaimed Festival d’Avignon. His play Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists will be seen for the first time in Finland.

”The heartfelt, considerate way in which Rodrigues approached characters melted my heart. […] Rodrigues isn’t a showy director: He is a humanist at heart, preoccupied with empathy and the ways in which today’s world undermines it.”
Laura Cappelle, The New York Times

Read the full New York Times review here (in English).

Winner of the Best Foreign Show Award UBU 2023 in Italy.
Winner of the Best Foreign Show Award from the Critics Association in 2023 in France.
Winner of the 2023 Giuseppe Bertolucci Price, Best feminine European actress for Béatriz Maïa.

Watch the interview with director Tiago Rodrigues (in English).