10 years giving voice to texts.
The "Esta noite grita-se" project was born from a very simple desire: to bring friends together to read plays.
But these encounters grew, opened up to the public, and transformed into a unique space for meeting dramaturgy, performers, and spectators, where the spoken word continues to occupy the center of the theatrical experience. For a decade, we read almost fifty texts, crossed paths with classic and contemporary authors, explored libraries, theaters, and other unlikely places, and made the spoken word the center of the theatrical experience.
In 2026 we celebrate the 10th season of Esta noite grita-se. And, to mark this moment, we have brought together new plays, a brand new translation commissioned especially for this edition, the return of some of the most memorable readings in our history, the debut of the new New Playwriting Award for Female Authors, a photographic exhibition, a podcast and many other surprises.
This is a season to celebrate the journey so far, revisit memories, and discover what is yet to be read.
Explore the program and join the party.
09/10/11/16
OCTOBER
de Karen Hartman
23/24/25
OCTOBER
from
Nicole Caligaris
06/07/08/13
NOVEMBER
20/21/22
NOVEMBER
de Pau Miró
27/28/29
NOVEMBER
17/18/19/23/24
DECEMBER
ESTA MANHÃ,
GRITA-SE
Reading Workshop
Workshop led by
Filipe Abreu and Miguel Maia
24/25
OCTOBER
Alcântara Library
JOSÉ DIAS COELHO
The readings of Esta noite grita-se always begin the same way: a group of people gathered around a text. Just words, voices, and the collective discovery of what theatre can reveal.
This is the moment we want to share.
The Reading Workshop invites anyone—whether or not they have experience in theatre—to experience the pleasure of reading drama aloud. Over two mornings, we will explore different ways of approaching a theatrical text, discovering characters, rhythms, intentions, silences, and possibilities for interpretation, in an environment of experimentation, listening, and sharing.
Following the excellent reception of the workshop open to the public in the previous edition, we are once again betting on this format, believing that theatre reading can be a space for encounter, curiosity and discovery for everyone.
The workshop will take place on October 24th and 25th, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM, at the Alcântara Library – José Dias Coelho, and is intended for the general public, regardless of prior experience in theatre or reading.
RESONANCE
A look back at 10 years of Tonight We Scream
por Sónia Godinho
20 to 29
NOVEMBER
For ten years, Sónia Godinho documented the Festim Esta noite grita-se festival, constructing a visual universe that does not seek to document the event, but to reinterpret it. If the interpreted reading transforms the dramatic text into presence, photography transforms that presence into an image, extending it beyond the instant.
Resonance arises from this encounter between two languages that inhabit time in distinct ways. Each photograph is born from the vibration between the event and the gaze that interprets it, prolonging a presence that resists disappearance.
A new creative gesture where the ephemeral finds another duration and where the photographer's gaze reveals what remains invisible when the show ends.
São Luiz Municipal Theatre
PODCAST
Esta noite
grita-se
A podcast of theater readings.
Over the past few years, our audience has emphasized the act of active listening that the readings provoke, an experience that invites the viewer to imagine the scenes unfolding and to become the director of the play they are listening to.
To increase our reach and bring this experience to more people, we launched the podcast "Tonight We Shout," which will revisit the programming from past editions, offering a read text in each episode that awaits the listener.
The podcast "Esta noite grita-se" is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other platforms, as well as on our YouTube channel and our website .
Created to recognize, value, and encourage dramatic writing by female authors in the Portuguese language, the New Dramaturgy by Female Authors Prize annually distinguishes an unpublished work. The prize is intended for authors with or without published or publicly presented work, promoting the emergence of new voices and contributing to the diversity of contemporary theatrical writing.
Between January 1st and March 31st, we received 178 applications for the 6th edition of the prize—the highest number of entries ever recorded. Given the particularly competitive nature of the competition, the jury selected the following three finalist works:
Over the next few months, the finalist authors will participate in an optional mentoring and dramaturgical development process, conducted in dialogue with the jury members. Once this stage is complete, the winning work will be announced in early October, and its premiere reading will take place on November 28th and 29th at the São Luiz Municipal Theatre, followed by a performance on December 4th at the Lagos Cultural Centre.
To learn more about this 6th edition of the New Dramaturgy Award for Female Authors, please visit this link .
GUEST STRUCTURE
Founded in 2018, Mákina de Cena is dedicated to artistic creation and the development of cultural projects in partnership with national and international entities. After an initial phase marked by international collaboration, it consolidated its activity with the opening of Casa da Mákina in Loulé, establishing itself as a structure for creation, programming and training, which now has a second space: Mákina.b.
Theatrical creation is the central focus of their activity, with a career that includes shows such as Sophia , Cabaret do Esquecimento , O Relatório da Coisa , Encanecer , Dois Perdidos no Horror Elíptico da Sobremodernidade , Tive 1 Ideia para 1 Dueto , Samotracias , Viagem ao Centro da Terra , A Rapariga da Gabardine Amarela , Casa Amarela , Pé de Laranja Lima , O Amante and Os Memoráveis . Their productions have toured various national and international stages, with the support of entities such as DGARTES, the GDA Foundation and Iberescena.
Alongside its creative work, Mákina de Cena develops ongoing activities in training, cultural mediation, and support for emerging artists through workshops, projects in schools, and partnerships with educational institutions and artistic organizations, contributing to the strengthening of the cultural fabric in the Algarve.
BOX OFFICE
Tickets can be purchased online, on the BOL platform, or locally on the day of each reading.
Ticket price: €5
(except for the session on 11/10 at the Marvila Library, where entry is free as it is part of the “Dias de Marvila” event).
CREDITS
Artistic Direction - Filipe Abreu and Miguel Maia
Performers - António Fonseca, António Mortágua, Aoaní, Cirila Bossuet, Cláudia Jardim, Filipe Abreu, Inês Lago, Indi Mateta, Joyce Souza, Miguel Maia, Paulo Duarte Ribeiro, Pedro Lacerda, (remaining cast to be announced).
Photography - Sónia Godinho
Graphic Design - Edoardo Trave
Teaser - Mário Jerónimo Negrão
Audiovisual recording - James Newitt
Production - Lara R. Santos
Communication - Sónia Godinho
Press Office - Raquel Guimarães
FUNDED STRUCTURE
CO-PRODUCTION
SUPPORTS
PARTNERS
MEDIA PARTNER
