The IHC was one of the proposing institutions of the project Archiving Theatre, that aims to identify, map, and assess the situation of theater archives in Portugal, in order to establish a plan of good practices involving a network of institutions.

With several national partners, including the National Theatres Dona Maria II and São João or the National Museum of Theatre and Dance, and having as a starting point two archives donated to the Center for Theatre Studies (the archives of the Cornucopia Theatre and of Mário Barradas), the project will seek to deepen the analysis of public and private conservation policies, in order to promote the preservation, accessibility and study of theatrical archives. It also wants to contribute to the discussion about the role of the archive in the construction of memory in the performing arts.

Coordinated by Maria João Brilhante (Center for Theatre Studies — FLUL) and by IHC researcher Ana Bigotte Vieira, this was one of the projects funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology under the annual project competition. It will be developed over three years.

Picture: São João National Theatre, Porto (Credit: Associação de Turismo do Porto e Norte. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)