Porto Stage Revives Zeca Afonso’s Farewell to Rally Today’s Voices

Porto’s Historic Theatre Company Calls on José Afonso’s Spirit for Trying Times

A fresh look at a legendary goodbye

On 7 and 8 November the Teatro Experimental do Porto (TEP) will transform the main stage of Teatro Municipal do Porto – Rivoli into a vibrant echo chamber of José “Zeca” Afonso’s last public appearances. Titled “José Afonso, ao vivo nos Coliseus, 1983,” the production revisits the farewell concerts the singer gave while already weakened by illness, but it does so through a contemporary theatrical lens rather than by meticulous re-enactment.

Gig-theatre, memory and protest in the same breath

Director Gonçalo Amorim and dramaturg Rui Pina Coelho embrace the hybrid language of “gig theatre”: actors and musicians share the stage, live video mingles with archival sound, and newly commissioned texts comment on the historic recordings. The creative team—spanning playwrights Lígia Soares, Marta Figueiredo, Miguel Cardoso and Susana Moreira Marques—focuses less on nostalgia than on the urgency of Afonso’s message.

Key moments of the 1983 set list resurface—“Vampiros,” “Um Homem Novo Veio da Mata,” “Grândola, Vila Morena”—but often interrupted, remixed or reframed to ask how easily the ideals they proclaim can still be sung at full volume today. Performers Catarina Chora, Catarina Carvalho Gomes, Inês Salvado, Mariana Leite Soares, Pedro João, Xosé Lois Romero, Hugo Inácio, Abigail Raposo and Beatriz Mendes occupy a scenography by Catarina Barros that suggests both a concert hall and a political assembly. Musical direction is shared by Mariana Leite Soares and Pedro João, leading a small band that fuses folk instrumentation with electronic textures.

Lighting designer Nuno Meira underscores the show’s oscillation between celebration and warning, while José Freitas’ live-camera projections splice present-tense action with footage of Afonso’s own voice and gestures. The performance runs approximately 113 minutes and is recommended for audiences over 12.

Why Zeca’s words feel current in 2025

Academics have repeatedly pointed out that Afonso’s catalogue has aged into a civic toolbox: calls for solidarity, antifascist vigilance and social justice seem tailor-made for a period marked by democratic backsliding across Europe. Amorim admits the production stems from “a need to borrow strength from Zeca when fundamentals we took for granted look shaky.” By inviting authors to write for “someone who could be in the audience in 1983 or in 2025,” the project builds a bridge across four decades, testing whether the songs still mobilise collective resolve.

Critics who attended early rehearsals note the choice to start—but not finish—the chorus of “Grândola, Vila Morena” as an emblem of the unease many feel when confronted with unfinished democratic promises. This dramaturgical pause invites spectators to decide for themselves whether the anthem can regain full voice.

Tickets, prices and accessibility

• Dates: 7 and 8 November 2025, 19:30• Venue: Teatro Municipal do Porto – Rivoli, Porto• First-ring stalls: €4.50–€9• Second-ring stalls & balconies: €9Discounts are available for students, senior citizens, group bookings and Porto Card holders. The performance includes Portuguese Sign Language interpretation, audio description and wheelchair access.

A strategic milestone for Portugal’s oldest professional troupe

Founded in 1953, TEP has weathered financial pressure common to the performing-arts field. Multi-year operating grants from the Ministry of Culture, DG Artes, GEPAC and Porto City Council provide a backbone, yet the company continues to diversify revenue: large-profile projects like the Afonso tribute draw new audiences, while residency programmes such as the 2025 Open Call (€500 stipends plus rehearsal space) invest in emerging artists.

Although the show’s title references the Coliseu concerts, presenting it in Rivoli aligns with TEP’s home-base partnership with Teatro Municipal do Porto. Coproducers Culturgest, Centro Dramático Galego and CineTeatro Louletano help spread costs and broaden touring prospects, an approach consistent with European discussions on greener, more sustainable production models.

In short, by revisiting José Afonso’s swan-song through a 2025 perspective, TEP stakes out both an artistic and a civic position: celebrating a musical legend while using his unfinished chorus as a question for Portugal’s present and future.