As well as being a great leisure option, going to the theater is an alternative for those who enjoy good stories of different genres. That’s why we’ve made a selection of some of the best plays in Rio de Janeiro that you won’t want to miss this month!
Torto Arado – The Musical
The free adaptation of Itamar Vieira Junior ‘s best-selling novel hits the stage in Rio de Janeiro this May!
So, among the plays in Rio de Janeiro, don’t miss ‘Torto Arado – The Musical’, which features an epic and lyrical text that goes beyond a story of life and death in the depths of the Bahian hinterland.
Delicate and difficult issues such as labor analogous to slavery, racism, land disputes, as well as the universe of faith, magic, poetry and religiosity are addressed in both the book and the musical.
📅From 17/05 | Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm | Saturdays at 4pm and 8pm | Sundays at 4pm
📌Teatro Riachuelo | Rua do Passeio, 38/40 – Centro
💵 From R$40,
Absolution
The play ‘Absolvição’ will have a new season in May in Rio, this time in Ipanema.
The monologue has an instigating plot and many twists and turns, with the confessions of a man driven by an obsessive purpose: to hunt down child abusers and take justice into his own hands.
As well as raising profound questions about ethics and justice, it also leads the audience to reflect. After all, is he an avenging angel on a divine mission or simply a murderer?
📅From 13 to 28/05 | Tuesdays and Wednesdays, at 8pm
📌Teatro Laura Alvim | Avenida Vieira Souto, 176 – Ipanema
💵 From R$ 20,
Father & Son
The Pequena Companhia de Teatro, from Maranhão, is occupying the Banco do Brasil Cultural Center with various attractions. This month, it premieres the play ‘Father & Son’, loosely inspired by Franz Kafka‘s Letter to the Father.
The play brings to the stage a visceral clash that exposes the power structure that forms within the family and reverberates throughout society. It also discusses themes such as hierarchy, oppression, silence and guilt, in a tense play where the attempt at dialog is continually thwarted by the authoritarian imposition of the father figure.
📅From 08 to 19/05 | Thursday to Saturday, at 7pm | Sunday, at 6pm | Monday, at 7pm
📌CCBB – Teatro III | Rua Primeiro de Março, 66 – Centro
Free
The Girl with the Watery Eyes
‘The Girl with the Watery Eyes’ portrays, in a playful way, the situation of climate refugees and the overcoming of a little girl, represented by a doll, in the face of environmental catastrophes.
In the plot, the protagonist loses her home and pet in a flood in the south of the country. In the hostel, she makes new friends and shows us, through her sweet eyes, how hopeful she is about everything she has experienced.
📅From 10 to 18/05 | Saturdays and Sundays at 4pm
📌Cacilda Becker Theater | Rua do Catete, 338 – Catete
💵 From R$ 22, (half-price)
Proncovô
‘Proncovô’ has already been to several Brazilian cities and is now showing in Rio de Janeiro for a four-week season.
A poetic musical show that celebrates the art of walking, a tribute to the mambembe artist, the wanderer and the nomadic vocation of the artist, who always sets off in search of his audience.
Thus, it brings the actor-musicians to the stage as popular and contemporary troubadours, playing, singing and reciting texts and poems stitched together in a dramaturgy that celebrates Brazilian play culture.
Until 30/05 | Thursdays and Fridays at 8pm
📌Gláucio Gill Theater | Praça Cardeal Arco Verde, s/n – Copacabana
💵 From R$ 30, (half-price)
Where the silence of the fall goes
Also at the Gláucio Gill Theater, you can see the play ‘Para onde vai o silêncio da queda’.
The play investigates the love device in an intimate and political way, through the eyes of a northeastern migrant woman in Rio de Janeiro. With contemporary language, the play is a dramatic comedy, in a documentary stand-up format, which exposes the paradox of a woman’s emotional and financial independence and romantic fantasies .
Until 28/05 | Wednesdays at 8pm
📌Gláucio Gill Theater | Praça Cardeal Arco Verde, s/n – Copacabana
💵 From R$20 (half-price)
Instinct
An award-winning show in Norway,‘Instinct’ is showing in Rio de Janeiro and exposes the threshold between the human being and the representation of primates, questioning the tenuous limits of our own humanity with humor and sarcasm.
Mixing theater, dance, music and visual arts, the play brings to light the role of the leader in the face of society as a silent mass and how far we go in the name of our ideals.
📅Until 18/05 | Thursday to Sunday, at 20h30
📌SESC Copacabana | Rua Domingos Ferreira, 160 – Copacabana
💵 From R$15 (half-price) | R$10 (SESC members)
Diva: Live from Hell! – the musical
Among the plays in Rio de Janeiro to see this month, ‘Diva: Live from Hell! – the musical’.
The story portrays the life of Desmond Channing, a young actor who sees his reign on stage threatened by the arrival of a star. So, driven by rage, he commits a series of crimes that land him in Hell after his death.
His sentence? To retell his story every night in search of redemption, always in a comical way and filled with acid humor and catastrophic consequences!
📅Until 11/05 | Fridays and Saturdays, 8pm | Sundays, 7pm
📌Cesgranrio Theater | Rua Santa Alexandrina, 1011 – Rio Comprido
💵 From R$ 37,50
Mamma Mia!
The musical ‘Mamma Mia!’ is back on stage in Rio and continues to be a hit with the locals!
The story, inspired by the famous movie, is set on a charming Greek island and revolves around Sophie. The girl, who is about to get married, invites three ex-boyfriends of her mother, Donna, in the hope of finding out who her real father is.
📅Until 11/05 | Wednesday to Saturday, at 4pm and 8pm | Sunday, at 3pm and 7pm
📌Teatro Riachuelo Rio | Rua do Passeio, 38/40 – Centro
💵 From R$ 37,50
Now Inês is Dead
Did you know that the expression “Agora Inês é morta” is used in the sense of “now it’s too late”? And that it was born out of a tragic love story that marked the Portuguese court ?
So the play ‘Agora Inês é Morta’ looks at the episode to propose a reflection on the intensity of feelings and the strength of a passion.
The play recalls the brutal murder of Galician Inês de Castro on January 7, 1355, by Dom Afonso IV, then King of Portugal. Dom Pedro I, the King’s son, was her great love and the father of her children.
Until 29/05 | Thursdays at 8pm
📌 Teatro dos 4 | Shopping da Gávea
💵 From R$50 (half-price)
Toc Toc
The worldwide hit by French playwright Laurent Baffie gets a new staging in Brazil and opens in Rio de Janeiro this month!
With a strong cast, the comedy takes an irreverent and sensitive approach to Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), balancing humor and reflection. The show is set in the waiting room of a doctor‘ s surgery, where six patients are waiting for a doctor to arrive.
However, with the specialist’s delay, the patients decide to start an improvised therapy, resulting in hilarious situations, unexpected clashes and moments of great complicity .
Until 08/06 | Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm | Sundays at 7pm
📌 Teatro dos 4 | Shopping da Gávea
💵 From R$70 (half-price)
TV Colosso – The Musical
Those who miss the hit series from the 90s can celebrate! The musical about Priscila and her canine gang is coming to the theater with an exciting story full of adventure!
Celebrating 30 years of TV Colosso, the idea is that adults can relive their childhood while children explore the universe with lots of laughs, lessons and musical numbers!
📅 Until 11/05 | Saturdays at 2pm and 4:30pm | Sundays at 11am and 3pm
📌 Multiplan Theater | VillageMall
💵 From R$40 (half-price)
My Medicine
Actor Mouhamed Harfouch is back with the monologue “Meu Remédio” for another season in Rio!
Directed by João Fonseca, the show features a deeply personal and emotional narrative, in which Harfouch delves into his life story. In this way, he deals with themes such as identity, belonging and acceptance of his own history.
Until June 1st | Saturdays at 8pm | Sundays at 7pm
📌 Teatro Vannucci | Shopping da Gávea
💵 From R$ 60,
So, which of these plays in Rio de Janeiro are you going to see?