THE CRYPT OF POE

The play is based on the following Edgar Allan Poe’s works: “The spectre”, “The Raven”, “The oval portrait”, “Berenice”, “Ligeia” and “William Wilson”, and it performed in the "stage-installation" format, combined with video interventions and emphasizing elements of suspense and Phantasmagoria. In this setting, the characters / figures create neurotic and obsessive games.

The essence of the entire work of Poe is based on the fantastic of exacerbations of human nature: hallucinations, whose logic is beyond the usual awareness; restless and feverish minds; neurotic characters; the dual of every man. The play highlights questions that haunt the contemporary man, their psychological conflicts, their fears and ghosts, the unknown of the human soul and its effects on the behavior and interpersonal relations.

The fatalism and the deep diving into the unknown reveal a personal experience which made Poe one of the main “mad genius” of the world’s literature. The author's influence extended to the Symbolist poetry, fiction, the modern detective novel and psychological, film and arts. We can also notice his influence in the popular culture from different periods as well as in the lifestyle of young people around the world, for example, in dark and emo style.

In its initial phase, the project was developed with the collaboration of Cia. Teatro del Contagio from Milan (Italy) and it had the sponsorship and support of the Prefeitura da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro, Municipal Secretariat of Culture, Centro Cultural São Paulo, Oficina Cultural Oswald de Andrade, and in partnership with the Instituto Italiano di Cultura de São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and FUNARTE.

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SYNOPSE:

The Crypt of Poe is a "multimedia" play, inspired in the universe of the poet and writer Edgar Allan Poe. With a fragmented structure, the play makes a diving into the unknown of the human soul, featuring stories about neurotic characters and the dual of every man.

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SYNOPSE OF THE SHORT STORIES

The Spectre
It had been a year of terror. The plague had taken countless lives, and those seven men were gathered, along with the body of a deceased friend, laughing and drinking. But no terror in the world would have been enough to prepare them for what they were about to hear, what the presence of a mysterious dark face.

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The oval portrait
In an abandoned and mysterious mansion a strange oval portrait draws the attention of an intruder. Hanging in a dark corner of the room, the sinister portrait seemed to have a life of its own. Under the light of a chandelier, he discovers the tragic story of the beautiful lady portrayed and its painter.

The Raven
In a lonely and sad night, an unexpected visit surprises and terrifies the host, who was lost in their thoughts. In deep sadness for the death of his beloved Lenora, he listens to a soft knock on the door and it scares him. But, as soon as he opens the door, there is only darkness. By trying to open the window, a large Raven enters through the crack. Its name is “Never More”.

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Berenice
A morbid disease comes upon the body of the one called Berenice. She who always had been cheerful, jovial and vivacious now is slowly consumed by an illness that takes away her vitality. Her cousin and future husband, plagued by their own diseases and madness, has macabre delusions and the one and only terrible desire he has are the teeth of Berenice.

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Ligea
Ligeia, a pale, fragile, raven-haired and big dark-eyed woman, is endowed with an indomitable will to live. After her death, the widower marries the Lady Rowena, a blond-haired and blue-eyed woman who also comes died. Thus stunning and successive changes begin to occur.

PRODUCTION CREDITS
The Crypt of Poe
Inspired in the short stories of Edgar Allan Poe
Special participation: Cia. Teatro Del Contagio (Italy)
Direction, playwright and stage lighting: Lenerson Polonini
Cast: Omero Affede, Carina Casuscelli, Carmen Chimienti, Matheus Prestes, Daniel Sommerfeld and Rosa Freitas.
Special participation in video: Paulo César Peréio
Art direction, costume and makeup: Carina Casuscelli
Soundtrack: Wilson Sukorski
Videoscenary: Acauã Fonseca and Alexandre Ferraz
Image assistant: Henrique Oda
Body movement assistant: Jocarla Gomes