The comedy that turns Greek tragedy into laughs is back at Teatro Cândido Mendes with three nominations at Brazil’s top humor theater award. After a successful run across two seasons in 2025, “Édipo de novo?” (“Oedipus Again?”) returns to Teatro Cândido Mendes in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, from March 6 to 27, with Friday performances at 8 PM. The show earned three nominations at the Prêmio do Humor — best show, best script, and best direction — an award created by comedian and actor Fabio Porchat to spotlight comedy in Brazilian theater.
From Ancient Greece to Rio’s Comic Stage
Written and directed by Thiago Bomilcar Braga, the production draws from farce, Brazilian vaudeville, the sharp irreverence of Rio’s teatro besteirol, Latin melodrama, and improvisational comedy to retell the myth immortalized by Sophocles in 427 BC. Each week, current events and viral memes are woven into the performance, keeping the show fresh and sharply topical. “We were nominated for best show, best script, and best direction at the Prêmio do Humor. Not even in our boldest dreams did we expect this much. The play was born out of the desire to work as a group, to create together, and — of course — to make people laugh at Oedipus’s tragedy. These nominations went beyond anything we imagined. I consider the Prêmio do Humor the most democratic award in Brazilian theater. It looks at comedy, a genre that has historically been overlooked at these events. And it does not restrict itself to big productions or well-known names. ‘Édipo de novo?’ is guerrilla theater, made with no money — part crowdfunded, part out of our own pockets. There is so much beauty in seeing a play made like that, with guts and collective effort, earn this recognition,” says director Thiago Bomilcar Braga.
An Ensemble of Narrators and Characters
The cast — Aline Cruz, Fabio Làura, Felipe Pêpe, and Laurent Janod — shifts fluidly between narrator and character. The story spans from Laius‘s forbidden affair with young Chrysippus, which triggers the curse on Oedipus, all the way to the protagonist’s exile from Thebes alongside his daughter Antigone.
Comedy as Social Commentary
Despite the laughs, the show remains faithful to the full arc of the myth — its mysteries, curses, betrayals, mythological creatures, and one of the greatest plot twists in theatrical history. Improv theater is used as a tool to make the narrative both accessible and politically relevant.
Humor has always been the most effective way to criticize without making it heavy. When we laugh, we let our guard down. And it is in that disarmed moment that uncomfortable or controversial subjects reach those who need to hear them. Aristophanes was already criticizing patriarchy in ‘Lysistrata’ in ancient Greece. Our show will keep following that tradition, staying tuned to the latest news — and the memes that go viral — to sharpen our satire. — Thiago Bomilcar Braga, playwright and director.
Practical Information
Show: Édipo de novo? (Oedipus Again?) Season: March 6–27, 2026 Venue: Teatro Cândido Mendes — Rua Joana Angélica, 63, Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Schedule: Fridays at 8 PM Tickets: R$ 60 (full price) / R$ 30 (half price) Age rating: 16+ Running time: 70 minutes Tickets available at:https://bileto.sympla.com.br/event/108809Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/edipodenovo/ Photo: Amanda Loretti and Pedro Nicoll
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