The Teatro Nacional de São João (TNSJ) in Porto presented its programming for the 2026/2027 season, described as having a "healthy mixed character." Artistic director Nuno Cardoso, chosen unanimously for the position he took up in December 2025, stated that he considers himself privileged to have been doing what he loves for 20 years. The programming reflects an eclecticism that includes diverse premieres and various co-productions.
The season opens with 'Maiúscula', a solo by Jacinto Lucas Pires directed by Marcos Barbosa and performed by Luísa Cruz in the role of Benedetta Croce, an actress of a certain age to whom a director proposes a project called Medeia. The play premieres on September 9 and continues on a national tour to the cities of Lousã, Tavira, and Bragança. Next, the opera 'Relicário Perpétuo' premieres, a celebration of the V Centenary of the birth of Luís Vaz de Camões, with musical composition by Luís Tinoco, libretto by Luísa Costa Gomes, direction by Nuno Carinhas, and musical direction by Joana Carneiro with the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra.
Among the highlights is 'Kung-Fu', an autobiographical solo by Congolese playwright Dieudonné Niangouna, directed by Renata Portas with Diogo Tormenta, which invites the audience to participate in the theatrical fight from September 17 to 19. Tiago Guedes directs 'Anatomy of a Suicide', by Alice Birch, a play that presents three generations of women in three different times and spaces, with the ghost of suicide always present.
The programming also includes co-productions with new companies and artists who are participating for the first time at São João. Among these is a partnership with Teatro Aberto in Lisbon for the presentation of 'Caravana', by João Luís Barreto Guimarães, directed by João Pedro Vaz. There is also a planned reading by Gonçalo Waddington of 'The Father', by Strindberg, in a co-production with São Luiz Teatro Municipal, also in Lisbon.
