Look at the Nicholas Witch

Nicolau, don't make tapes
Watch out for snags
Because I know you believe
This spell thing

Look at the Witch, Nicholas
Traditional Portuguese Songbook

At night, we're invisible.
The dark cloak that numbs the sun makes us forget the colours of the world, ignites the imagination and sets off unknown fuses.

Nicolau is the child we all are.
A collective character that we have woven together, as if we were Penelope, to dispel fears: this is how we honour the moon, a secret light in the darkness, this is how we name witches, women magicians of the occult, this is how we sing so that the voice can bring our souls closer to the world.

Look at the Witch, Nicholas is a spectacle of curiosity about what we don't know. And after the curiosity, it's a spectacle of love for what we don't know.

Treat fear as you, reminding it that it is an ally of curiosity and that you just need peace of mind to walk together.

Together, between fear, curiosity and our identity, we walk the long road of stories: witches aren't bad after all.
They are curious women who wake up to the herbs in spring and do science with their teas and syrups.
They are women who know how to believe in words - as poems also do, or as we also believe in those written in the law.

The law is made up of the same words as poems.
The poems are made up of the same words as the saints.
Saints are made of the same stuff as fears.

After all, everything is also about believing.
Being able to see what your fingers can't find in the world.
What are invisible things made of? Thoughts, dreams, longings, desires?

And we've been brought up to fear
We smell flowers of fear
We wear cloths of fear

- fear, by Carlos Drummond de Andrade

Dramaturgy - Ricardo Boléo, based on Witches, Spells, Dead People and Apparitions by Maria Manuela Couto Viana and oral tradition records
Interpretation - Cátia Terrinca, Cheila Lima and Patrícia Andrade
Scenography - Bruno Caracol, with Ana Seguro, Bia D. Sousa, Celina, Iara Cassamé, Júlia Barradas, Laura Anahory, Lee Afonso, Leo, Michelle Gonçalves, Margarida Costa, Joana Gonçalves, Patrícia Silva, Sara Jorge, Sisi Lungu and Sofia Serrano, accompanied by their teachers Hugo F. Matos, Luís Santos and Sérgio Reis.
Costumes - Raquel Pedro, with Alexandre Mineiro, André, Ângela Vieira, Beatriz Almeida, Pipa Bucho, Jojo, Leonor Garcez and Maria Santana, accompanied by teachers Hugo F. Matos, Luís Santos and Sérgio Reis.
Light - João P. Nunes
Sound - Sara Santos (trainee at the School of Technology, Management and Design of the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre)

Voices (children) - Aurora Cordeiro Campos, Bibas, Gaia Lepolard, Jacinto Terrinca Nunes, João Santos Cruz,
Joana Santos Cruz, Maria Luísa Curinha Galego, Maria Teresa Curinha Galego and Simone Assis Pires

Voices (women) - Ermelinda, Luísa Castro, Maria Arcângela, Ana Delgado, Amália Oliveira, D. Ilda, Diana Almeida, Margarida, Maria Leopoldina and Rosalina Maria

Mediation and audiences - Rui Salabarda
Support for creation - Ricardo Guerreiro Campos and Sara Afonso
Production - Luís Eduardo Graça
Photographs - João Versos Roldão

Collection of remedies (ESSL 11th grade students) - Maria Madalena Lourenço, Duarte Carrilho, Ana Filipa Jesus, Ana Beatriz Cardoso, Clara Mendes, Dalila Ventura, Ricardo Gonçalves and Guilherme Cardoso Accompanied by teachers: Inês Proença and Teresa Simão

Illustrations (EBI Monte Carvalho students) - Caetana Gonçalves, Gabriela Fernandes, Jacinto Terrinca Nunes, Margarida Pereira, Maria Joana Bezerra, Simone Assis Pires, Ana Júlia Alves, João Santos Cruz, Afonso Pereira, Ana Leonor Dimas, Benedita Nunes, Clara Mangerona, Henrique Lacerda, José Maria Lupi, Manuel Modas, Maria Beatriz Esperancinha, Maria Luísa Curinha Galego, Maria Teresa Curinha Galego, Rodrigo Lavadinho, Sofia Nunes, Ana Margarida Narciso, Francisco Freitas, Gonçalo Vintém, Joaquim Nova, Manel Batista, Maria Cora Vintém, Matilde Miranda, Matilde Pequito, Pedro Lavadinho, Tiago Barradas, Joana Cruz, Afonso Machado, Beatriz Bailadeira, Carlos Sotero, Carminho Fernandes, Cloé Menichetti, Hugo Cardoso Martins, Martim Ferreira, Martin Lavadinho, Matilde Pacheco and Miguel Santana, accompanied by their teachers: Célia Pedras and Maria Gléria Lindo

Thanks - Aurizia, Beatriz, David Couto Viana, Helena Raimundo Rosado, Ivo Reis, Maria Antónia Barata, Padre Fontes and Ti Margarida

Partnerships - Escola Artística António Arroio, Escola Secundária S. Lourenço, Escola Secundária de Montemor-o-Novo,
Monte Carvalho Primary School, Ribeira de Nisa and Carreiras Parish Council, Loading and Boleima

Co-producers - CCB / Fábrica das Artes, CAE Portalegre, Teatro do Noroeste, Municipalities of Portalegre, Avis, Elvas,
Ponte de Sor, Montalegre, Montemor-o-Novo, Figueira da Foz and Miranda do Corvo

A COLLECTIVE is a structure funded by DGArtes and the municipalities of Portalegre, with the support of the municipalities of Avis, Elvas and Ponte de Sor.

Cover illustration - © Raquel Pedro, from a photograph in the book Mulheres do Meu País, by Maria Lamas