João das Neves: politics, engagement and scenic creation in 1968

Abstract

Sometimes condemned as escapist, other times praised as a tool for revolutionary liberation, art generally remains a hot topic within academia as well as elsewhere. This text addresses the multiple faces of João das Neves, director of Jornada de um imbecil até o entendimento, by Plínio Marcos, performed by Grupo Opinião in 1968. The analysis we propose here tries to illuminate different ways of making theater in Brazil, in this case, from the edges inward. Indeed, the late director became known for his political or “legitimate” engagement, as Eric Hobsbawm puts it in a different context, raising ideas and challenges under the Brazilian military dictatorship, issues that have lost nothing of their contemporary relevance.