The actress, playwright and director Sara Barros Leitão will premiere on Friday, in Braga, the monologue "We, Alone", which tours the country until April 2027, contributing to the discussion that anticipates the 20 years of decriminalization of abortion in Portugal. The three performances in the city, in the small auditorium of Theatro Circo, are already sold out.
On stage, on a tennis court, Sara Barros Leitão embodies women who were accused in court of having abortions, some already in this century, as well as judges or doctors. Through the words of these people, she tells the history of Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy (VIP) in Portugal and the decades-long effort to have it decriminalized, more than 30 years after the arrival of democracy, in 2007, after a second referendum on the topic. The setting is justified by the Maia Trial, in 2001, when 17 women were tried for the practice of abortion, two confessed and one was sentenced to four months in prison.
The text is composed of real archives, including newspaper clippings and oral testimonies that reached the author, with research coordination by Andreia Peniche. Several women featured in the play report having been on the verge of death due to the use of objects that pierced their uterus. The play uses the figure of sports commentary, through the umpire of a tennis match, to tell the political game that preceded decriminalization.
After Braga, the show will be on stage in Lamego, Matosinhos, Loulé, Ílhavo, Espinho and Fafe, later this year. In 2027, it will go through Funchal, Coimbra, Monção, Pombal and, in April, to Teatro Viriato, in Viseu. The law that allows VIP up to the first ten weeks of pregnancy came into force on April 22, 2007, after a second referendum that had 59.2% of voters in favor.
