International Festival of Theatre in Minority Languages

LÍNGUA is a festival dedicated to the languages of the land, where the community and amateur theatre, identifying with a region or a language or dialect, take stage. What do we lose when a language dies? The answer to this question led us to the creation of this festival: the importance of theatre as an expression of its resilience, because when a language dies, an entire legacy that was passed down from generation to generation disappears.
LÍNGUA’s programme encompasses theatre in minority and endangered languages and transcends their borders. It opens up to amateur, community, popular and ethnic theatre, in a search for real theatres of the world as they are made and experienced in our time. After the success of the first edition in 2022, and the shows in Mirandese language (from the Portuguese region of Miranda do Douro), Sassarese language (from the Italian region of Sardinia) and Extremaduran language (from the Spanish region of Extremadura), the biennial event is moving on to its second edition, with theatre shows in minority languages, music concerts, themed workshops and talks and lots of entertainment.

The biennial event, which will take place from the 7th to the 10th of June at the Gil Vicente Theatre in Barcelos, will open with the play “O Milagre das Cruzes” (The Miracle of the Crosses), interpreted in Portuguese sign language, performed by the APACI theatre company from Barcelos, which works artistically to include people with disabilities through theatre. From Galicia (region in northwest Spain), comes the award-winning work “O Meu Mundo non é deste Reino” (My world is not of this kingdom) by Teatro da Ramboia, which brings the Galician language to the stage, and from Morocco, the Blanc’art company from Casablanca, brings the show “Soupir” (Sigh) in the Darija dialect. At the end of the programme, and dedicated to children, “Saaraci, o Último Gafanhoto do Deserto” (Saaraci, the Last Grasshopper of the Desert) is performed in Cape Verdean or Creole by Saaraci Coletivo Teatral, a company in the diaspora between Portugal and Cape Verde. The event will also feature a debate on the importance of theatre as an expression for safeguarding and spreading minority languages. There will also be space for training, with the highlight being a children’s workshop on the Mirandese language (Portugal), led by author and teacher Duarte Martins. Music will also feature prominently in the event, with a show of traditional Galician music and a concert by the Sons de Barro Portuguese project of the Banda Musical de Oliveira.

The LÍNGUA – International Festival of Theatre in Minority Languages is organized by the Teatro de Balugas Theatre Company and by the Club for UNESCO for the Safeguarding of Theatre in Minority Languages, with funding from the Barcelos City Council, INATEL Foundation and sponsored by several national and international entities.