Já International
Theatre, in Lisbon, is a theatre group that combines different nationalities
and styles of acting into one.
Suresh Nampuri is one
of the founders of the group and told The Portugal News that
it was created in 2017, celebrating its fifth anniversary on 17 July.
Innovative ideas
Já International
Theatre works as an experimental group, trying to combine different ways of
acting. The actors speak in English, however, each one may have a different
nationality and different styles of acting.
The director and
founder of the group told The Portugal News that Já
tries to “combine elements” from the different perspectives about the theatre.
Another goal of Já is to make all plays innovative. For example, adapting a
Shakespeare play is possible, however, the purpose of the adaption is to make the
piece “relevant for now.”
Challenges
Suresh Nampuri pointed
out that combining so many different styles may be challenging, but the biggest
challenge is “the motivation and the process.” Different actors, with different
cultural backgrounds regarding acting on stage, will interpret the text also in
different ways. The director mentioned that according to the “cultural mindset”
the words may have different meanings, influencing the emotion the actor will
pass to the audience.
Who is acting?
Besides having people
from different nationalities and backgrounds, the roles are given equally to
people who are emerging on to the scene or artists “who have been working in
theatre for 40 years.” The alternative way of acting may pique the curiosity of
many people, especially professionals in the field who “suddenly want to do
visual media.” According to Suresh, part of the experience is to “identify new
ways of storytelling” and “local artists in Portugal”, especially those who
“are slightly unconventional.” One of the innovative features, which some
actors look for, is acting through holograms, which is possible to do when
included in Já International Theatre.
European Union
Initiative
Filled with pride,
Suresh Nampuri told The Portugal News that Já will
be participating and representing Portugal in a European Initiative that
gathers theatre groups from different European countries. The initiative will
allow the group to “build new international collaborations”, as well as create
new opportunities for every artist. It will be possible to showcase the work
being done by the group, taking Já International Theatre to other corners of
the world.
Currently, the group
is “looking for collaborations”, appealing to those who want to share an idea
to contact the group.
Deeply in love with music and with a guilty pleasure in criminal cases, Bruno G. Santos decided to study Journalism and Communication, hoping to combine both passions into writing. The journalist is also a passionate traveller who likes to write about other cultures and discover the various hidden gems from Portugal and the world. Press card: 8463.