PS21 presents the US Premiere of Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists by Tiago Rodrigues

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE APRIL 15, 2024

Acclaimed Portuguese director and playwright Tiago Rodrigues, Director of Festival d’Avignon, explores a family’s ritual of revenge against the Salazar dictatorship and asks, Can we defend democracy by violating its principles?

PS21 presents the US Premiere of Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists, by Tiago Rodrigues, on July 4th weekend. The resurgence of right-wing political forces in the US, Europe, and elsewhere, fueled by fears of migration, economic stagnation, and frustration with government efforts to address climate change, has created a backlash against cherished democratic principles and institutions. Catarina reminds us not to take our rights for granted.

US PREMIERE
CATARINA AND THE BEAUTY OF KILLING FASCISTS
Tiago Rodrigues
National Theater of Portugal
A Festival d’Avignon Production

July 5 at 8 p.m.
July 6 at 7 p.m.

PS21 Pavilion Theater
2980 ROUTE 66
CHATHAM, NY 12037

Winner of the 2023 Best Foreign Show Award (Italy)

Winner of the 2023 Best Foreign Show Award from the Critics Association (France)

“Catarina feels like an invitation to grapple with what humanity is capable of”–The New York Times

“This production achieves such a level of excellence that, if some people called it a manifesto, it would be one that sums up the importance of theater in today’s society.”– Intro (Portugal)

CATARINA AND THE BEAUTY OF KILLING FASCISTS

The curtain rises on what appears to be a summer idyll, a family seated around a large table in a grove of oak trees, eating and drinking in celebration. The action is set shortly—2028—and we sense tension in the air; something is amiss. We discover that this family meets every year to commemorate the 1954 murder of Catarina Eufémia, an illiterate harvest worker shot by a member of the Salazar dictatorship’s Portuguese national police while demonstrating for higher wages, her eight-month-old son in her arms.

For generations, the family—all of whom are named Catarina in honor of their martyr—has been carrying out its own bloody, archaic ritual of revenge, bearing witness to “the beauty of killing fascists” by kidnapping a fascist, appointing one family member to shoot the victim in front of the rest of the clan, and burying the body on their farm.

But this year, the new generation of Catarinas, young and opposed to violence, suddenly rejects the family credo, “Do harm to practice good”—and refuses to go along with the naked and bloody ritual of violence. With a gun in hand and finger on the trigger, moral doubts suddenly prevent this Catarina from firing it.

Instead, these Catarinas ask, “Is violence a legitimate means to make the world a better place? When fascist forces are on the rise in a democracy, what are the best means of countering them?” And, they wonder, what if the other side takes advantage of this very ethical dilemma and uses it as the first step to bringing an end to freedom?

Rather than offering easy answers, Tiago Rodrigues dramatizes the consequences of these questions on stage as a paradox both lucid and grotesque. In doing so, he creates a performance that challenges the audience and their own contradictory values to the point where it hurts—especially in 2024, when we should be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Portuguese revolution and the end of fascism in Europe—and makes palpable the threat to democracy and freedom that exists across the entire continent and beyond.

“Rodrigues isn’t a showy director: He is a humanist at heart, preoccupied with empathy and the ways in which today’s world undermines it. Complexity is always the answer in Rodrigues’s work — and it is one of the best ways to the audience’s heart.” — The New York Times

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Tiago Rodrigues, actor, director, playwright, and producer, was born in Amadora, Portugal in 1977. He joined the Belgian collective STAN in 1997, where he co-created and performed in productions in more than 15 countries. Six years later he and Magda Bizarro founded Mundo Perfeito, where he created numerous shows that have been performed. Since 2023, he has been artistic director of the Festival d’Avignon. Rodrigues is celebrated for dismantling the boundaries between theater and everyday reality and challenging our perceptions of social and historical phenomena.

“The world of fiction, in which I still believe as a theater artist, allows certain things that aren’t possible in politics. Like this completely absurd and truly awful question, “Should the fascist be killed or not?” Only the theater can create a context in which that question exists.” — Tiago Rodrigues

ABOUT PS21
A vibrant center for contemporary performance in the Hudson Valley, PS21 “presents work that challenges and invites” (The New York Times): adventurous productions by leading and emerging American and international artists in music, dance, and theater, and visionaries creating entirely new genres. On our open-air Pavilion Theater stage, across our expansive, unspoiled grounds, and in the diverse surrounding communities, PS21 cultivates and presents productions that transcend aesthetic boundaries and revitalize existing artistic languages and grammars, all at affordable prices that help expand audiences willing to encounter and embrace unfamiliar, challenging genres and ideas. The 2024 Season schedule is in the link. Throughout the year, we host developmental residencies for dancers, musicians, actors, and creators of original, even unclassifiable new work.

A model of innovative theater design, our green-energy spaces are state-of-the-art, and sit atop our 100 acres of unspoiled meadows, woodlands, and trails—all open to the public every day. With the sights and sounds of nature seeping into every Pavilion performance, PS21 offers truly unforgettable experiences and demonstrates our commitment to be open, inviting, and designed for everyone’s enjoyment.
Through our PATHWAYS programs, we bring visionary artists into workshops, classes, installations, and performances on our grounds and into the community—all free of charge or at low cost. PATHWAYS also fosters collaboration between community arts groups and the Town of Chatham—enhancing cultural life in the Hudson Valley.

Support
The production/performances of Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists received support from Theatre & New Forms, a program of Albertine Foundation in partnership with Villa Albertine.

Order Tickets and more information
Priority Tickets: $50
General Admission: $35
Student Tickets: $15

Performance Schedule:
Friday, July 5 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, July 6 at 7 p.m.
PS21 Pavilion Theater

Visiting PS21
PS21/Center for Contemporary Performance, a state-of-the art venue on 100 acres of unspoiled meadows, trails, and woodlands in the heart of the Hudson Valley.

Accessibility
PS21’s theater is fully accessible and reservations for wheelchair spaces and aisle seating for those with mobility needs are available upon request. Ample parking is available, with spaces reserved for the disabled closest to the theater. Headsets may be requested at the box office prior to the show.
Accessible restrooms are located in the theater lobby. For more information visit ps21chatham.org

Directions
PS21 is located at 2980 New York Route 66, in Chatham, New York. Driving time from Manhattan is approximately 2-2.5 hours. Free parking is available. If taking Amtrak, PS21 is 15 miles from the Hudson station. Transportation to and from the train stations are available through Uber, and local taxi companies Hudson Taxi (518-755-2098), Transport LLC, (518) 577-5388, transportllc.com, and McCanns Taxi (518-610-0071).

High-resolution Press Images for Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists can be found here.

MEDIA CONTACT: Raphaele de Boisblanc, Raphaele@ps21chatham.org;

Tel. 518.392.6121
Image: CATARINA © Joseph Banderet

Order tickets