The Voices Collective Company presents The Three Marias with Eduarda Nogueira, Isabella Dellazari Velarde and Maria Barros. Directed by Wendy McEwan and written by Nogueira, this play takes us back to the 1970s, and in particular 1972.
The country is Portugal and the regime is a repressive one. The three Marias are close, with each one focusing on their own projects, however they end up collaborating to write the book New Portuguese Letters.
In the opening scene, one of the Marias enters the room after a violent assault and the three are only too aware of the risk posed from simply having a voice. The driving force for one Maria is ‘passion’ and not the finished product.
They have as an influence a 17th-century nun and their work picks up some shared ideas, but the Marias have their own spin, their own experiences and their own regime to contend with. The risk is very real but the women are serious about using letters, puzzles, extracts and poetry to complete New Portuguese Letters.
There is much excitement when their work is finally published and a sense of great accomplishment. During their time together we feel the starkly contrasting personalities, but somehow they complement each other. We experience erotic poetry and depictions of domestic violence and dialogue. At times the stage looks a bit cramped for the physical theatre though.
The celebration for the book release is short-lived as it is censored and labelled as ‘pornographic’. Worse than that, there will be a trial held which is postponed, and within this time big changes occur in Portugal — the regime falls at last.
The book reaches France and finds a place with the feminist movement there. These three women have made their mark on history, they have shone a light on inequality and the consequences of having lived under a dictatorship government. Freedom, creativity and passion have been at the heart of what they intended.
The historical context, the resources and ideas, the personalities of each character and their absolute willingness to proceed with their project despite the risks has shown courage, self-belief but something wider too — a global reaching out, a demonstration of what can happen with sheer determination.
The wider scope and implications from this book are that it has played a huge role in defining women’s rights, ideology and post-regime reorganisation after over forty years of political oppression. This vibrant and emotional play gives the three Marias centre stage and a platform for this story in contemporary circumstances.
A powerful symbol in Portugal relating to the fall of the regime are red carnations, and the three actors gave out some to the audience in what felt like a poignant remembrance gesture. A powerful and moving performance.
