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Holland Festival: Macacos

Clayton Nascimento (BR)
Fri 14 Jun ’24 - Sun 16 Jun ’24
Multi-award-winning monologue about the history of prejudice, exclusion and violence.
Fri 14 Jun ’24
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Sun 16 Jun ’24

After an incident in a soccer stadium, where fans shouted macaco (‘ape’) at a black player, actor and theatre writer Clayton Nascimento decided to delve into the origins of a racism that he himself is also confronted with in his everyday life.

Using nothing more than his own body and a lipstick, Nacimento brings the story of Brazil to the stage, from rulings by the Portuguese Court during slavery to the present day, when executions of black people by the police go unpunished. In this moving and multi-award-winning monologue MACACOS, he takes the audience through this history of prejudice, exclusion and violence.

Taking to the stage historical facts and harrowing situations, he heartbreakingly gives a voice to the mothers mourning their arrested and murdered daughters and sons. He also makes a direct connection with the audience as he reflects on slavery, the human trafficking that made the Netherlands rich. From beginning to end, MACACOS is more than a performance: it shows where art has the power to inspire social change

June 15th: Meet the Artist

Curious how the piece Macacos came about and want to learn more about the maker? Then stay in the theatre after the performance to meet Clayton Nascimento and ask your questions. 

  • Language: Portuguese / surtitles: English, Dutch
Part of

Credits

director Clayton Nascimento creation Clayton Nascimento performance Clayton Nascimento technical management, light Danielle Meireles, Cynthia Monteiro photography Julieta Bacchin, Noelia Nájera, Bob Sousa production Corpo Rastreado, Companhia Do Sal international production CORPO A FORA

About the maker

Clayton Nascimento (1988, São Paulo) was raised on the outskirts of South Zone of São Paulo in Jabaquara in the 90s. He is currently a professor of Theatre techniques and Improvisation at the Escola Superior de Artes Célia Helena, where he graduated; he studied at Casa do Teatro, SP Escola de Teatro and at the School of Dramatic Arts.

As an actor he was involved in Buraquinhos ou o vento é inimigo do Picumã, directed by Naruna Costa. With that production she was the winner of the 2019 APCA prize for Best Director - the first black woman to win this award in the 70 years of the institution. The play also won the Aplauso Brasil prize for Best Director and was nominated for Best Cast.

Nascimento is the director, writer and performer of Macacos (‘Apes’), the multi-award winning play about racism and black genocide in Brazil. Some of those awards are the Shell Theatre Award for Best Actor (2023) and the APCA prize for Best Actor.

Holland Festival 2024