This is the first time that the Escola de Mulheres has staged a text by Angela Carter (1940-1992) in Portugal, according to the company.

"The Company of Wolves" is a story by the journalist, poet, writer and short story writer, known for her post-feminist literature.

Published in 1979, the story was adapted the following year by the writer for a radio version, in a text that, according to the Escola de Mulheres "is representative of several characteristics of the author's writing, such as the reinterpretation of fairy tales; in this specific case, a reinterpretation of "Little Red Riding Hood", which affirms a feminist vision, contradicting the repressive representations of the role of women".

The author "links the defence of women's emancipation and their sexuality to human and animal duality, with the importance of attending to instinct and desire, and hinting at a symbolic triumph of nature over religious belief", we read in a note from the Escola de Mulheres about the play.

In this production, Francisco Camacho, who also signs the stage space, starts "from the radio version of the story" to develop a "work that goes from sound transmission to the stage space, passing through the filmed image, amplifying the succession of stories that are told in the radio play".

On stage, the proposal is embodied by six performers: Carla Bolito, Carlos Malvarez, Marta Lapa, Sofia Fialho, Ruy Malheiro and Victor Gonçalves.

"A radio theatre text inherently has an initial invisibility, with the challenge to the group of listeners to freely imagine the events they hear and the environments described, and to associate figures with the voices they hear", writes Francisco Camacho about the staging of the play.

Adding that by staging it "articulates this dimension with the challenge of paradoxically showing something that should be imagined by the listener, in a perspective of unfolding meanings and establishing other connections".

Because "we want to stimulate the imagination of those who watch and listen", stresses the director.

According to the Escola de Mulheres, this production "also uses the manipulation of different materials to produce live sounds", in a work that "is inspired by the practice of Foley artists, who generate and recreate sounds for audiovisual productions".

"The Company of Wolves" is the 76th production by the Escola de Mulheres, founded in 1995 by Fernanda Lapa, who directed it until her death in 2020, with Cucha Carvalheiro, Isabel Medina, Marta Lapa, Cristina Carvalhal, Aida Soutullo and Conceição Cabrita. The company has assumed as its mission, from the beginning, "to privilege the creation and work of women in Theatre and to promote new dramaturgies of feminine themes and writing."

Marta Lapa and Ruy Malheiro are the current artistic directors of the company.

"The Company of Wolves" will be on stage in the theatre hall of the Clube Estefânia until 9 June, with sessions from Wednesday to Sunday, at 9:30 pm. On 24 May, after the show, there will be a talk with the audience.

"The Company of Wolves" has translation and dramaturgical support by Paulo Morgado, costumes by Carlota Lagido, lighting design by Paulo Santos, graphic design by Luis Covas, and video by Eduardo Breda.

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