Abstinência de Purpurina: Practice and research

Abstract

Abstinência de Purpurina is a theatre performance created by coletivo CASA that aims to intertwin artistic research with practice. Since its origin, the project seeked to explore a theoretical thought on stage, as well as to observe and develop in which way it could be integrated in the actress’s body and in her relationship with the audience. The performance establishes a connection with Doubrovsky’s autofiction literary concept as a way to explore three kind of relationships: actress versus character; character versus spectator; spectator versus self. Through this theatrical experience, the theoretical research intended to reveal in which way the actress and the audience would become (or not) vulnerable and reflective by becoming a part of the show. Enabling the multiplication of its interlocutors’ speeches, Abstinência de Purpurina was designed and developed with a specific focus on a collective process. The coletivo CASA also constructed the play and the scenery while trying to explore the applicability of the fluctuating hierarchy concept. Trying to fit itself in the reality of the contemporary Portuguese theatre, this practical research incorporated the notion of site specific, whereas uncovering spatial alternatives that reconciled the aesthetic and plastic vision of the show.