Six years ago, the everyday problems Gilles Deleuze broached in his work The Exhausted inspired the piece A última palavra é a penúltima [The Last Word Is the Penultimate One], staged by three theater companies (Vertigem/São Paulo, Kikzira/Minas Gerais and LOT/Peru). With the benefit of hindsight, the play, which Teatro da Vertigem revisits for the #31Bienal, aims to look anew on past achievements and reflect upon and reoccupy its former venue: the underground walkway on Rua Xavier de Toledo, downtown São Paulo.

The issues addressed would seem to have intensified for Teatro da Vertigem, especially those concerning social conditions and future prospects. The actors and video screens installed in empty window displays attempt to render visible what the city tries to hide: poor living conditions, social inequality, spurious interests and the exhaustion that comes of the toil a large swath of the city’s population has to engage in day after day.

With performances on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, the intervention draws on the spontaneous participation of the public, who become part of the play inside the displays, as passersby, audience and actors mix. The result is interaction in which all parties see and are seen.

The Last Word is the Penultimate One - 2.0
October 3 - December 7
Fri, Sat and Sun: 7pm and 9pm
Days: October 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26, 31, November 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 21, 23, 28, 29, 30, December 5, 6, 7
Venue: Viaduto do Chá x Praça Ramos de Azevedo underground walkway. 
Not recommended for under 16
Free admission – Tickets distributed 30 minutes before the performance begins
Contact: +55 11 3255 2713
teatrodavertigem.com.br

| A última palavra é a penúltima, photo: Edu Marin