Variety Theater "hasn't gotten better nor does it help" actors to do theater

J osé Raposo was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a partial rehearsal for the show "Reality Show: Os Raposos -- 3027", which premieres today, bringing together José Raposo and his sons Miguel and Ricardo on stage for the first time.

As for the play, it explores the very idea of ​​spectacle, oscillating between reality and fiction, future and past, rehearsal and performance, in a play of mirrors that revisits the family and artistic legacy of José, Miguel, and Ricardo Raposo, "while simultaneously questioning the role of theater in a world saturated with information-spectacle." As for the Variedades' physical space, the challenges for the actors mount.

"The team - and this is very important to say - the team that works in this theater, [the team] of management, information, technicians, is a fabulous team," said José Raposo, adding that they found at Variedades "an extraordinary group of people who welcomed them in a wonderful way", which "is half the battle to make a person feel very good, wherever they are", he observed.

Regarding the physical space, however, the actor said he had "a lot of criticism to make", because he knew the other Variedades, the previous one, and lived there.

"It was a fabulous theater, I'll never understand why they tore it down," he said, adding that they should have "restored and rebuilt it within the entire structure it had."

This "is really" the opinion of José Raposo, for whom the new Teatro Variedades "has not improved in any way", pointing out flaws that make life difficult for actors, as happens in the dressing rooms, for example.

Although the new theater is beautiful and has "very clean" architecture, the previous one "was a wonderful theater on every level," he said. "But there are some very strange things in Portugal," he emphasized, adding that, from a functional standpoint, the new building does "nothing to do with theater."

"It could be different, but still be highly functional and do very well in theater here, but it isn't," said his son Miguel Raposo. But "that's not true, in fact. It doesn't help us a lot of the time," Miguel Raposo added.

Among the dysfunctionalities of the new building, José Raposo gave the example of the dressing rooms, which, in addition to being windowless spaces, upon arrival it is difficult for anyone to "notice the existence of a hanger to hang clothes", as they have a small closet that is difficult to distinguish from the walls.

Artists' access to the bathrooms is another example given by José Raposo: it requires going down stairs, as they are located on floors below the dressing rooms, in a labyrinthine path.

Considering that, despite everything, "it's better to be there at Variedades than not to be anywhere", José Raposo praised the "eclectic and varied programming" that the venue has made available to the public, welcoming artists and shows from "various areas of theater, which is fantastic".

And as for the team, he reiterates, "it's wonderful", both from a human and professional point of view.

The Teatro Variedades, a project by Urbano de Castro, was inaugurated in 1926 and remained in regular operation until the 1960s.

Designed for revue theater, some of Parque Mayer's greatest hits were performed there, with casts featuring artists such as Beatriz Costa, Vasco Santana, and Mirita Casimiro.

Victim of a fire in 1966, the old Variedade was later restored and, in the 1990s, was the stage for the program "Grande Noite", by Filipe La Féria, before remaining closed for 30 years.

Designed by architect Manuel Aires Mateus, the refurbished Teatro Variedade maintained the format of the main room and the portico on the facade and opened on October 5, 2024.

"Entraria nesta sala", a play by Ricardo Neves-Neves, was the show with which the Lisbon municipality marked the inauguration of the new theater, which turns one hundred in 2026, also remembering the centenary of Parque Mayer (1922-2022).

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