In addition to 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!
Diana – The People’s Princess
Photo: Carlos Costa
This Brazilian musical production, currently playing in Rio de Janeiro, delves into the iconic trajectory of Lady Di.
Starring Sara Sarres, the show humanizes the “People’s Princess,” exploring the emotional and media conflicts with sophistication and profound emotional impact.
📌Multiplan Theater | Shopping VillageMall – Barra da Tijuca
📅Until May 13 | Wednesday to Friday, at 8 p.m. | Saturday, at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. | Sunday, at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
💵 Starting at R$ 125
Adorável Trapalhão – The Musical
Photo: Melina Knolow
An affectionate celebration of the life of Renato Aragão, from his childhood in Ceará to his rise to fame with “Os Trapalhões.”
The musical transforms the stage into a large playful arena and features a special appearance by Renato himself, at 91 years old. Thus, the production combines humor, original music, and a revival of Brazilian cultural memory.
📌Sesc Ginástico Theater | Rua Graça Aranha, 187 – Downtown
📅Until April 19 | Thursday and Friday, at 7 p.m. | Saturday and Sunday, at 5 p.m.
💵 Starting at R$ 30
Desfazenda – Bury Me Outside This Place
Photo: José de Holanda
Inspired by the true story of enslaved children in Brazil in the 1930s, this award-winning show uses the aesthetics of hip-hop theater and poetry battles to denounce contemporary politics.
On a minimalist stage, four actors use the rhythm of words to evoke a dense narrative about the search for dignity and the breaking of violent structures. The season in Rio has an important symbolic layer, since the capital of Rio de Janeiro was the starting point of the true story that inspired the work.
📌Sesc Tijuca | Rua Barão de Mesquita, 539 – Tijuca
📅Until March 22 | Thursday to Saturday, at 7 p.m. | Sunday, at 6 p.m.
💵 Starting at R$ 15
O Formigueiro
Photo: Roberto Carneiro
This award-winning dramatic comedy uses Alzheimer’s as a backdrop to discuss the complex dynamics of a Brazilian family.
When three siblings reunite for their mother’s birthday, secrets and tensions come to the surface, revealing that, although chaotic, family ties are what sustain individuals in the face of mortality.
📌Armando Gonzaga Theater | Avenida Gen. Osvaldo Cordeiro de Farias, 511 – Marechal Hermes
📅March 14 and 15 | 7 p.m.
💵 Starting at R$ 10
📌Mario Lago Theater | Rua Jaime Redondo, 2 – Vila Kennedy
📅March 21 and 22 | Saturday at 6 p.m. | Sunday at 5 p.m.
💵 Starting at R$ 10
📌Imperator – CCJN | Rua Dias da Cruz, 170 – Méier
📅March 28 and 29 | 7 p.m.
💵 Starting at R$ 10
Shadows at the End of the Staircase
Photo: Lenise Pinheiro
This play, starring Vannessa Gerbelli, features an actress without resources who occupies a theater and refuses to leave.
Luiz Carlos Góes’ unpublished text moves between nonsense and confession, denouncing human behavior and misogyny under a layer of comedy about independent artistic creation.
📌Teatro Domingos Oliveira | Avenida Padre Leonel Franca, 240 – Gávea
📅Until March 29 | Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. | Sunday at 7 p.m.
💵 Starting at R$ 40
Oedipus again?
Photo: Pedro Nicoll
A humorous satire that subverts Sophocles’ classic Greek tragedy with the agility of Rio de Janeiro’s slapstick theater and improvisation.
The play uses modern language to make the dramas and curses of the myth more accessible, proving that it is possible to laugh at the greatest misfortunes in history.
📌Teatro Cândido Mendes | Rua Joana Angélica 63 – Ipanema
📅Until March 27 | Fridays, at 8 p.m.
💵 Starting at R$ 30
💵 Starting at R$ 30,
Heart in the Mouth
Photo: Dalton Valerio
Inspired by the universe of Jean-Luc Godard, the production reflects on love, freedom, and the drive for life from the perspective of actors in their 60s.
Avoiding a linear narrative, the play uses fragments and collages to question how long it is possible to live intensely. It also explores how our view of desire changes over the decades.
📌CCBB RJ | Rua Primeiro de Março, 66 – Centro
📅From March 13 to April 26 | Thursday to Saturday, at 7 p.m. | Sunday, at 6 p.m.
💵 Starting at R$ 15
KINTSUGI, 100 memories
Photo: Publicity
Also at CCBB, the renowned LUME Group returns to Rio with a work that blends the personal and the political.
Using the Japanese technique of repairing ceramics with gold as a metaphor, the cast explores the fractures of individual and national memory. From Alzheimer’s to the historical erasures of Brazil.
📌CCBB RJ | Rua Primeiro de Março, 66 – Centro
📅Until March 29 | Wednesday to Saturday, at 7 p.m. | Sunday, at 6 p.m.
💵 Starting at R$ 15
Nas Ruas ao Redor
Photo: Rodrigo Menezes
Conceived by Sergio Kaufmann, the show uses the names of streets in Vila da Penha as a framework for telling stories of affection and memory.
With original songs and comic interplay, the production explores belonging and urban transformation as a mirror of universal questions about territory.
📌Ziembinski Theater | Praça Urbano Duarte, s/n – Tijuca
📅Until March 29 | Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. | Sunday at 7 p.m.
💵 Starting at R$ 15
Magnólia
Photo: José de Holanda
A futuristic musical fable inspired by the work of Jorge Ben Jor. The production narrates the descent of an astronaut goddess to Earth, where she incarnates as a black woman and discovers the world through the perspective of joy.
The show combines dance, spoken word, music, and performance in a popular, pluralistic, and diverse scenic perspective.
📌Sesc Copacabana | Rua Domingos Ferreira, 160 – Copacabana
📅From March 12 to April 5 | Thursday to Sunday, at 8:30 p.m.
💵 Starting at R$ 15
So, which of these plays in Rio de Janeiro will you go see?
