Unstaged Nelson Rodrigues tales finally hit Rio stage

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2 meses atrás

“Diabólica vingança” brings two never-before-staged Nelson Rodrigues stories to Rio. Opens April 30 at Futuros — Arte e Tecnologia.

Two short stories by Nelson Rodrigues — one of Brazil’s most celebrated playwrights — are receiving their world stage premiere in Rio de Janeiro. The production “Diabólica vingança” (Diabolical Revenge), directed by Renato Carrera, opens on April 30, 2026 at Futuros — Arte e Tecnologia, in the Flamengo neighborhood. The show is a production by Bruzun Company and Palavra Z Produções Culturais, with production direction by Bruno Mariozz.

The production stages the stories “A mão esquerda” (The Left Hand) and “Vingança” (Revenge) in full, with no alterations to the original texts. The cast features Andreza Bittencourt, Dani Ornellas, and director Renato Carrera himself. Before arriving in Rio, the play made its international debut in Portugal, at the Mostra de Teatro Brasil at Chapitô, in 2025.

A story found in a drawer

The origin of the show holds a remarkable story. While teaching a workshop on building Nelson Rodrigues characters, Carrera met Crica Rodrigues, the playwright’s granddaughter. He asked whether any unpublished texts remained in her grandfather’s drawers — and she handed him the story “Vingança,” which became central to the production.

Both stories share the theme of revenge and how one reaches the breaking point for reasons of love — how far you can go for love, and what revenge can unleash. All of this is explored through the archetypal situations and characters that run through Rodrigues’ entire body of work.
Renato Carrera, director

Love, contempt, and fatal revelations

In “The Left Hand”, Lauro is a man haunted by a physical secret. After finding love, he discovers what contempt truly means. A mounting tension — blending shame, desire, and menace — leads to a macabre ending. In “Revenge”, Dinorá, trapped in a loveless marriage, finds in her deathbed the chance to wound her husband with an irreversible revelation.

The production examines the tensions between love and violence through a contemporary lens. Themes such as gender-based violence, desire, trauma, and abusive relationships run through both acts. An original score by Adriano Sampaio and projections designed by Daniel de Jesus deepen the audience’s immersion in the darkest corners of human emotion.

Carrera’s fifth encounter with Rodrigues

Renato Carrera has a long history with Nelson Rodrigues’ work. As director and actor, he was involved in “Vestido de noiva” — winner of the Questão de Crítica Award for Best Production —, “Senhora dos afogados”, directed by Ana Kfouri, and the plays “A serpente” and “A falecida”, as part of the project “2 X Nelson.” “Diabólica vingança” marks his fifth venture into Rodrigues’ universe.

Bruzun Company: a bold theatrical voice

Bruzun Company made its official debut with the musical comedy “Os Bruzundangas”, the first stage adaptation of Lima Barreto’s book of the same name. The show ran three seasons across all four CCBB venues and was presented at FIAV Bogotá in 2024. In 2025, the company premiered “Irmãs” — a free adaptation of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” featuring three Black actresses in the lead roles, nominated for the APTR Award for Best Costume Design — and “FIDES – Fé em latim”, a piece addressing sexual, moral, family, and religious harassment. Next on the company’s agenda is a musical about Tereza de Benguela, set to premiere in 2027.

About Futuros — Arte e Tecnologia

Open for 21 years, Futuros — Arte e Tecnologia is a cultural center dedicated to artistic exhibition, creation, and innovation, offering free programming for all audiences. The venue houses art galleries, a multipurpose theater, and the Musehum — Museum of Communications and Humanities, which holds a collection of over 130,000 historical pieces related to communications in Brazil. The center is managed by Instituto Futuros.

With the premiere of Diabólica vingança, Futuros once again becomes the stage for bold, unprecedented productions, offering audiences new stories from one of the greatest playwrights in our country’s history.
Victor D’Almeida, Culture Manager, Instituto Futuros