Hotel Paradoxo — Alex Cassal
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Can you imagine if the time machine were invented and we could travel to the past, but only once? What would each person’s objective be? A safari through Jurassic forests, among giant ferns and herds of brontosaurus? A sunny afternoon at a Greek amphitheatre, to see the premiere of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex? Or a more personal choice: going back to the day your child was born, to the first film you saw holding your loved one’s hand, smelling tobacco on your grandfather’s clothes again.
Among all the possible destinations of a hypothetical journey in time and space, the protagonist of PARADOX HOTEL chooses to make an almost domestic leap: to return to the summer of 2009 in Lisbon. There are conflicts in the Gaza Strip and nuclear tests in Korea. An Air France plane mysteriously disappears over the Atlantic Ocean. The Planck observatory is launched into orbit, with the mission of investigating the traces of cosmic radiation emitted by the birth of the Universe. And on the day of one of the greatest total eclipses of the 21st century, two strangers meet by chance and spend the night together in a hotel. They leave at dawn never to meet again. A journey on an intimate scale, with short detours along quantum beaches overlooking the Big Bang and rocky retreats in a lifeless distant future.
Credits
script and staging: Alex Cassal
interpretation: Marco Mendonça
original music: Felipe Rocha
video director: a confirmar
light design: Tomás Ribas
costumes: Miss Suzie
consulting (astrophysics): a confirmar
dramaturgical support: Joana Frazão
creation collaboration: Paula Diogo
production direction: Daniela Ribeiro
production: Má-Criação
residencies: O Espaço do Tempo, CAMPUS Paulo Cunha e Silva
About Alex Cassal
He was born in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1967. In the 1980s, he co-founded the Porto Alegre Street Theatre Group Movement, where he searched for new directions for art in public spaces, within groups such as Ói Nóis Aqui Traveiz and Alcateia. He has a B.A. in History from the State University of Rio de Janeiro – UERJ. He is a director, playwright and performer. His works explore the relationship with the other and unveil scenic mechanisms to create spaces for encounter and artistic daring. In Brazil, he is part of the group Foguetes Maravilha, responsible for shows such as Ele Precisa Começar (2008), Ninguém Falou que Seria Fácil (2011), Síndrome de Chimpanzé (2013) and Mortos-Vivos: Uma Ex-Conferência (2017). In Brazil, Alex collaborated with numerous theatre and dance artists, such as Enrique Diaz, Felipe Rocha, Renato Linhares, Alice Ripoll, Dani Lima, Gustavo Ciríaco, Clara Kutner, Denise Stutz, Michelle Moura, Ricardo Chacal and the Dimenti group. With Alice Ripoll, he directed the dance short film Journey to the Navel of the World, shown in Uruguay, Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, the U.S., Canada, China and Japan. In Portugal, he worked with artists as Tiago Rodrigues, Cláudia Gaiolas, Paula Diogo, Jorge Andrade, Marco Paiva, Márcia Lança and Sofia Dias & Vítor Roriz. Recently, he created the shows As Cidades Invisíveis (2016), Tiranossauro Rex (2017), Ex-Zombies: Uma Conferência (2018), Morrer no Teatro (2019), Speed Date (2020) and Biblioteca do Fim do Mundo (2021), among others. He lives in Lisbon.
Má-Criação
Má-Criação (Bad Creation) is a Lisbon-based company, created by the informal group of artists behind the Masako Point / Project 101 (2008) and the Learning to Swim (2010) projects.
Formalized as a Cultural Association in 2015, the structure now houses and produces the work of Paula Diogo and Alex Cassal, keeping a close relationship with a core of regular artists. The structure presents itself as a production platform for artists interested in creating bridges with projects and creators from different cultural, artistic and geographical backgrounds, with a strong authorial bent and based on research and collaboration processes.
