Notes on Rainha Lira

Abstract

Roberto Schwarz's latest play, Rainha Lira (2022), is an artistic appropriation of the Brazilian sociopolitical events of the last decade. In its most superficial layer, it is a parody that puts key figures of contemporary history on stage. However, this aspect, despite the great documentary value it might have in the future, does not in itself determine the aesthetic value of the play. By observing the composition of the work, from the configuration of the individual lines, through its cacophonous orchestration in the scenes, to the macro-movements that encompass the entire plot, it gets clear that its unity and aesthetic strength depend mainly on its structure. The founding contradictions of Brazilian sociability, the main object of Schwarz's essay, also shape the formal dynamics in Rainha Lira, where, for example, the nexus between modernity and backwardness appears deeply intertwined with the very dynamics of the lines and scenes. Finally, the political character of the play is also due not to the parodical aspect, but rather to the critical impulse that drives its literary composition.