CCBB São Paulo hosts Maranhão theater residency at 20

From 02/26 to 04/20/2026, Pequena Companhia de Teatro takes over CCBB SP with 4 free shows, a workshop, and an exhibition, plus post-show talks on select dates

CCBB São Paulo is turning its stage into a two-decade snapshot of research-driven Brazilian theater. The Ocupação Maranhense: 20 Anos da Pequena Companhia de Teatro brings four productions, a workshop, and an exhibition—entirely free of charge—running from February 26 through April 20, 2026.

The plays feature original writing by Marcelo Flecha and use a “genre transposition” approach, drawing freely from landmark literature. The creative dialogue includes Letter to His Father (Franz Kafka), The Book of Disquiet (Fernando Pessoa), A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings (Gabriel García Márquez), and The Other Death (Jorge Luis Borges).

Founded in 2005, the Maranhão-based company is made up of actors Cláudio Marconcine and Jorge Choairy, director Marcelo Flecha, and producer Katia Lopes. Over the years, it earned four FUNARTE Myriam Muniz Theater Awards and joined major national touring programs such as Palco Giratório, Programa Petrobras Distribuidora de Cultura, SESC Amazônia das Artes, SESI Viagem Teatral, and Ocupação dos Centros Culturais BNB.

Touring is part of its identity: the group was selected for 70 festivals and showcases and has performed in 72 cities across 25 Brazilian states. “Sendo um grupo de teatro de pesquisa de ações continuadas, a circulação pelo Brasil é o nosso alicerce de sustentação, a teia que enlaça nossas ações com todas as regiões do país, e com todo o teatro de grupo feito por aqui”, explains Flecha.

Four productions on stage

The season opens with Velhos caem do céu como canivetes (02/26–03/09), a production honored with two FUNARTE Myriam Muniz Theater Awards (2012/2013). Inspired by García Márquez, it stages a confrontation between a winged being (Jorge Choairy) and a man who survives by collecting trash (Cláudio Marconcine), with poverty and forced exile shaping a bleak, post-apocalyptic horizon.

Next comes Pai & Filho (03/12–03/23), based on Kafka’s Letter to His Father, tackling family power dynamics and their social echoes through a raw, visceral lens. Onstage, Jorge Choairy plays the Son and Cláudio Marconcine plays the Father.

From 03/26 to 04/06, Ensaio sobre a memória dives into competing versions of the past. A writer and his assistant research a story about a man who opposed a Latin American military regime, endured torture, and spent his life waiting for a chance to repair a fatal weakness. Freely inspired by Borges, the play navigates narrative traps, fictional memories, and historical suspicion.

Closing the residency, Desassossego (04/09–04/20) revisits Fernando Pessoa as a sensory, playful, and provocative stage experience—described as an “awkward comedy for forced smiles.” Luciana Duarte and Jeyzon Leonardo appear as versions of themselves, exposing the mess and beauty of rehearsal as a metaphor for everyday life.

Exhibition and lighting workshop

Starting on February 26, visitors can also explore Pequena Mostra de Teatro, an exhibition in the theater foyer at CCBB São Paulo, on view until 04/20. Photo albums, diaries, lighting materials, illustrations, catalogs, set fragments, costumes, and a mini library map the company’s artistic method and long-term research.

On 03/07, 03/21, and 04/04, Marcelo Flecha leads the workshop “Artesania iluminocenográfica: desenvolvendo tecnologia a partir da obsolescência”. Over 9 hours, participants investigate discarded materials, everyday light sources, and obsolete equipment to build political, aesthetic, and narrative thinking through light. There are 30 spots, with free registration via: https://forms.gle/CU8n36BbqScsoJ837

Service

Ocupação Maranhense: 20 Anos da Pequena Companhia de Teatro

From February 26 to April 20, 2026

Venue: Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil São Paulo (CCBB SP)

R. Álvares Penteado, 112, Centro Histórico de São Paulo, SP

Tickets: Free at the CCBB SP box office and via bb.com.br/cultura (1 hour before the performance)

Onstage — Velhos caem do céu como canivetes (freely inspired by A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, by Gabriel García Márquez)

Dates: 02/26–03/09/2026

Times: Thu, Fri, and Mon at 7pm | Sat and Sun at 6pm

Post-show talk: 03/07 | Saturday

Accessible session (Libras interpreter): 03/01 | Sunday

Age rating: 14+ | Genre: Drama | Duration: 60 minutes

Credits: Cast: Jorge Choairy (Winged Being) and Cláudio Marconcine (Human Being)

Text and direction: Marcelo Flecha

Lighting, set, and costumes: Marcelo Flecha

Soundtrack: Jorge Choairy and Marcelo Flecha

Light and sound operator: Marcelo Flecha

Production: Katia Lopes

Presented by: Pequena Companhia de Teatro

Onstage — Pai & Filho (freely inspired by Letter to His Father, by Franz Kafka)

Dates: 03/12–03/23/2026

Times: Thu, Fri, and Mon at 7pm | Sat and Sun at 6pm

Post-show talk: 03/21 | Saturday

Accessible session (Libras interpreter): 03/15 | Sunday

Age rating: 14+ | Genre: Drama | Duration: 60 minutes

Credits: Cast: Jorge Choairy (Son) and Cláudio Marconcine (Father)

Text and direction: Marcelo Flecha

Lighting, set, and costumes: Marcelo Flecha

Soundtrack: Marcelo Flecha

Light and sound operator: Marcelo Flecha

Production: Katia Lopes

Presented by: Pequena Companhia de Teatro

Onstage — Ensaio sobre a memória (freely inspired by The Other Death, by Jorge Luis Borges)

Dates: 03/26–04/06/2026

Times: Thu, Fri, and Mon at 7pm | Sat, Sun, and holidays at 6pm

Post-show talk: 04/04 | Saturday

Accessible session (Libras interpreter): 03/29 | Sunday

Age rating: 14+ | Duration: 60 minutes | Genre: Drama

Credits: Cast: Cláudio Marconcine (Writer), Dênia Correia (Woman), Lauande Aires (Pedro Damián), and Katia Lopes (Specter)

Text and direction: Marcelo Flecha

Lighting, set, and costumes: Marcelo Flecha

Soundtrack: Lauande Aires

Light operator: Marcelo Flecha

Sound operator: Katia Lopes

Production: Katia Lopes

Presented by: Pequena Companhia de Teatro

Onstage — Desassossego (freely inspired by The Book of Disquiet, by Fernando Pessoa)

Dates: 04/09–04/20/2026

Times: Thu, Fri, and Mon at 7pm | Sat and Sun at 6pm

Age rating: 14+ | Duration: 60 minutes | Genre: “awkward comedy for forced smiles”

Post-show talk: 04/18 | Saturday

Accessible session (Libras interpreter): 04/12 | Sunday

Credits: Cast: Luciana Duarte and Jeyzon Leonardo

Text: Marcelo Flecha and Cia. A Máscara de Teatro

Direction: Marcelo Flecha

Set, lighting, costumes, and soundtrack: Marcelo Flecha and Cia. A Máscara de Teatro

Light and sound operators: Luciana Duarte and Jeyzon Leonardo

Production: Luciana Duarte and Katia Lopes

Presented by: Cia. A Máscara de Teatro and Pequena Companhia de Teatro

Workshop — “Artesania iluminocenográfica: desenvolvendo tecnologia a partir da obsolescência”, with Marcelo Flecha

Dates: 03/07 and 03/21 | 04/04/2026

Time: 2pm–5pm

Audience: lighting designers, scenographers, theater students and artists, directors, and researchers interested in lighting dramaturgy using non-conventional illumination

Total duration: 9h | Age rating: 18+

Capacity: 30 spots

Free registration: https://forms.gle/CU8n36BbqScsoJ837

In the theater foyer — Exhibition “Pequena Mostra de Teatro”

Dates: 02/26–04/20

Days: Daily, except Tuesdays

Hours: 9am–8pm

Age rating: All ages

Admission: Free

CCBB SP info

Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil São Paulo

Address: Rua Álvares Penteado, 112 – Centro Histórico – SP

Hours: Open daily, 9am–8pm, except Tuesdays

Phone: (11) 4297-0600

Parking: Partner parking at Rua da Consolação, 228 (R$ 14 for 6 hours; validate the ticket at the box office). Free shuttle runs both ways from 12pm–9pm.

Van: Free round-trip service from Rua da Consolação, 228. On the return route, it also stops at República subway station. Runs 12pm–9pm.

Public transit: CCBB is a 5-minute walk from São Bento subway station. Check bus lines stopping on Líbero Badaró and Boa Vista streets.

Taxi/Ride-hailing: Get off at Praça do Patriarca and walk along Rua da Quitanda to CCBB (200 m).

Accessible entrance: People with disabilities or reduced mobility can use the side door ramp to the left of the main entrance.

Photo: Press materials, Ayrton Valle