Every weekend this past July the citizens of São Paulo had the pleasure of watching
Pride and Prejudice on stage. As far as I am aware this is the first staging of a Jane Austen novel in Brazil. The Fora de Foco Group was formed in October, 2003 by members of several groups from the Drama Festival Cultura Inglesa, an English language school in Brazil.The group's goal is to present plays by British authors in Portuguese. Their repertoire consists of Oscar Wilde, Shakespeare and, now, Jane Austen, much to the delight of Brazilian Janeites.
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| Pride and Prejudice – Grupo Fora de Foco – Brazil |
All the performances were lovely, including those of even the most minor characters, like Hill, Mrs. Bennet's maid, and Fosset, the Bingley's butler. Mr. Bennett had a book in hand during most of his scenes, and our dear Mrs. Bennet talked in her familiar shrill tones! Mary Bennet almost busted our ear drums with her recital, and Kitty acted a bit naughty. Lydia acted as coquettishly as ever. Knowing about Mr Wickham's charms, we can understand her behavior.
Mr. Bingley, I believe, must have been chosen for his smile – the clear and sincere smile we all know so well, and which is so very different from the smile of his beautiful and elegant but snobbish sister, Miss Bingley..
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| Guilherme Magalhães as Mr. Darcy and Alice Martins as Elizabeth Bennet |
We recognized Lizzy instantly by her very fine eyes and Jane Bennet by her sweetness. And what can I say about Mr. Darcy? I can only confirm what his housekeeper said about him – that he is the most sweet tempered and generous-hearted man. Guilherme Magalhães, our Mr. Darcy – yes, now we Brazilians can say OUR Mr. Darcy! – also acted as the spokeman for the Group.He kindly gave us an interview and permission to publish these photos.
Jane Austen's characters have finally all arrived in Brazil, from the Bennets to the Darcys, the Bingleys, and the Gardiners. Even the militia was not forgotten, their presence reminding us about our love for Jane Austen!
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| Alice (Lizzy) (Alice), Guilherme (Mr. Darcy), Roger (my dear Mr. Collins) and me! |
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| Click the image for larger images of full cast. |
Click here to see the original post in Portuguese.
Photos © Yuri Pallaro
Submitted by Raquel Sallaberry, Jane Austen em Português
