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«CADELA FORÇA TRILOGY - Chapter I: The Bride and The Goodnight Cinderella»
Carolina Bianchi Y Cara de Cavalo

TheatrePerformance

A poetic evening into the human abyss that deals with the brutal violence against women as a result of knockout drops. Finally, the internationally acclaimed production is coming to Zurich – a city that hits the topic right at its heart.

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  • Sun 29/0318:00–20:30

    Halle

    Few remaining tickets at the box office

Copyright: Christophe Raynaud

Boa Noite Cinderela (Good Night, Cinderella) is the Brazilian nickname for knockout drops that are slipped unnoticed into people's drinks so that they can then be sexually abused without defences, among other things.

After the rape and death of the Italian artist Pippa Bacca, a story that reminds Carolina Bianchi of her own, the Brazilian director researched and compiled a large number of reports of rape followed by feminicide. The result is a multi-layered collage that is interwoven in a way that defies harmony. Consisting of stories, images and figures from art history, it reveals the complexity of dealing with these cruel experiences, blurring memories and visualising the trauma of deep-seated wounds that constantly produce new information.

Together with the Cara de Cavalo collective, the director and eight performers create a journey into the abyss, a hole in the middle of the desert, a fall into a glass of Goodnight Cinderella.

We find ourselves in a space where the present collides with the past without warning. The performance makes references to literature and art history and combines musical mash-ups and dreamscapes, scenes of violence and rebellious dance. It becomes an attempt to trace an enigma that is difficult to describe, an incomplete memory.

What separates sleep from death? 

What happens when someone survives?

In its vulnerability and enormous power, the theatre piece is a radical reflection on violence against women, art and death: a courageous descent into the underworld.

The internationally acclaimed production is finally coming to Zurich. A city that is hit right in the heart by the subject matter.

The production premiered at the Festival d'Avignon on 6 July 2023.

Information on language

Brazilian Portuguese (spoken) with English and German surtitles

Information on accessibility

  • Age recommendation: The performance is recommended for those aged 18 and over.

  • Content Notes: This performance deals explicitly with the topics of rape, forced drug use and feminicide. It contains explicit descriptions and depictions of sexualised violence and murder. Individual scenes from this show can be distressing and triggering for some people.

  • Information on sensory stimuli: There are passages with strobe lighting, loud music and smoke, and the noticeable scent of alcohol.

  • Goodnight Cinderella is called Boa Noite Cinderela in Portuguese.

    Boa Noite Cinderela is the name for knockout drops in Brazil.

    Knockout drops render people unconscious.

    They are often used for sexual violence.

    Carolina Bianchi is a director from Brazil.

    She has collected reports of sexual violence.

    Together with the Cara de Cavalo group and eight actors, she has created a theatre play.

    The play deals with difficult topics: violence, memory and death.

    It combines music, dance, art and literature.

    It is courageous and moves the audience.

    In 2023, it was shown at the Festival d'Avignon.

    Now it is coming to Zurich.

  • Conception, text and direction:
    Carolina Bianchi
    Translation of texts into English and revision:
    Larissa Ballarotti, Luisa Dalgalarrondo, Joana Ferraz, Marina Matheus
    Dramaturgist and partnership in continuous research process:
    Carolina Mendonça
    Cast:
    Bruta, Carolina Bianchi, Chico Lima, Fernanda Libman, Joana Ferraz, José Artur, Larissa Ballarotti, Marina Matheus und Rafael Limongelli
    Technical direction, Sound design and Original music:
    Miguel Caldas
    Set design, Art:
    Luisa Callegari
    Light design:
    Jo Rios
    Light operator:
    Henrique Andrade
    Videos and Screenings:
    Montserrat Fonseca Llach
    Karaoke video:
    Thany Sanches
    Costumes:
    Tomás Decina, Luisa Callegari, Carolina Bianchi
    Art Assistant and General artistic collaboration:
    Tomás Decina
    Collaboration in body and voice training:
    Pat Fudyda, Yantó
    Dialogue on theory and dramaturgy:
    Silvia Bottiroli
    Artistic collaboration:
    Edit Kaldor
    Photos:
    Christophe Raynaud de Lage
    Stage manager and production support:
    AnaCris Medina
    Production direction, Tour manager and Communication:
    Carla Estefan
    International relations, Production and Diffusion:
    Metro Gestão Cultural (Brasilien)

  • Carolina Bianchi is a world-renowned Brazilian theatre maker, writer and performer who has been based in Europe since 2020. In her work, theory and practice are inextricably linked, always focussing on different casts and different aspects of choral expression. 

    Starting from a perspective of crisis, she fills gaps in memory with fictional events about sexual violence and art history and creates productions that interweave references from literature and painting and are complemented by musical mash-ups. 

    She is the director of the collective Cara de Cavalo in São Paulo, with whom she produced the shows Wolf 2019, The Magnificent Tremor 2020. She is currently working on CADELA FORÇA TRILOGY (2022/27). In 2023, Bianchi premiered the first chapter ‘The Bride and the Goodnight Cinderella’ at the Festival d'Avignon, where it was one of the highlights of the festival. The production moved the audience, challenged aesthetic norms and received excellent reviews worldwide. The Chapter II ‘The Brotherhood’ premiered on May 9, at KVS - Brussels, in the frame of Kunstenfestivaldesarts 2025.

  • A production by: Metro Gestão Cultural (Brasil), Carolina Bianchi Y Cara de Cavalo

    In co-production with: Festival d'Avignon, KVS Brussels, Maillon, Théâtre de Strasbourg - Scène européenne, Frascati Amsterdam

    Residency to finalise the play and the set design: La FabricA du Festival d'Avignon

    Residencies: Frascati Theatre, DAS Theatre (Amsterdam), Festival Proximamente/KVS (Brussels), Festival 21 Voltz/Central Elétrica (Porto), Pride Festival (Belgrade), Greta Galpão (São Paulo) and Espaço Desterro (Rio de Janeiro)

  • Theatre Der Welt, The Ammodo Foundation, DAS Theatre Master Program, 3 Package Deal of the AFK - Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunst

    International relations, production and diffusion: Metro Gestão Cultural (Brazil)

    This production premiered at the Festival d'Avignon on 6 July 2023.

Copyright: Christophe Raynaud

Copyright: Christophe Raynaud

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