![Luiz Päetow](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Luiz_P%C3%A4etow.jpg)
Luiz Päetow (born 1979) is a Brazilian theatre director, actor and playwright.
Early life and education
Päetow started working at age 11, with several productions of the
British Council
The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...
Theatre Group in
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
, including plays by
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
,
Federico Garcia Lorca Federico (; ) is a given name and surname. It is a form of Frederick, most commonly found in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.
People with the given name Federico
Artists
* Federico Ágreda, Venezuelan composer and DJ.
* Federico Aguilar Alcuaz, ...
,
Nelson Rodrigues
Nelson Falcão Rodrigues (August 23, 1912 – December 21, 1980) was a Brazilian playwright, journalist and novelist. In 1943, he helped usher in a new era in Brazilian theater with his play ''Vestido de Noiva (The Wedding Dress)'', considered ...
, and also musicals by
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film.
Born to ...
with guest director
Nancy Diuguid. Later, he entered the Conservatory for Dramatic Arts (located inside the
School of Communications and Arts) and acted in
Peter Weiss
Peter Ulrich Weiss (8 November 1916 – 10 May 1982) was a German writer, painter, graphic artist, and experimental filmmaker of adopted Swedish nationality. He is particularly known for his plays ''Marat/Sade'' and ''The Investigation'' and hi ...
' ''
Marat/Sade
''The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade'' (german: Die Verfolgung und Ermordung Jean Paul Marats dargestellt durch die Schauspielgrupp ...
'',
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...
' ''
The Glass Menagerie
''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his Histrionic persona ...
'',
Arnold Wesker
Sir Arnold Wesker (24 May 1932 – 12 April 2016) was an English dramatist. He was the author of 50 plays, four volumes of short stories, two volumes of essays, much journalism and a book on the subject, a children's book, some poetry, and oth ...
's ''
The Kitchen
The Kitchen is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary avant-garde performance and experimental art institution located at 512 West 19th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was founde ...
'',
Bertolt Brecht
Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...
's ''
The Baden-Baden Lesson on Consent
''The Baden-Baden Lesson on Consent'' (german: Badener Lehrstück vom Einverständnis) is a '' Lehrstück'' by the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht, written in collaboration with Slatan Dudow and Elisabeth Hauptmann. Under the title ''Lehrstück' ...
''.
As a child, he also developed cinephilia, attending international film festivals where, after seven years, he was allowed to work as an interpreter for the jury members
Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami ( fa, عباس کیارستمی ; 22 June 1940 – 4 July 2016) was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, and film producer. An active filmmaker from 1970, Kiarostami had been involved in the production of ...
,
Artavazd Peleshyan,
Béla Tarr
Béla Tarr (born 21 July 1955) is a Hungarian filmmaker. Debuting with the film '' Family Nest'' (1977), Tarr began his directorial career with a brief period of what he refers to as "social cinema", aimed at telling everyday stories about ordi ...
and
Oja Kodar
Oja Kodar ( ; born Olga Palinkaš; 1941) is a Croatian actress, screenwriter and director known as Orson Welles's romantic partner during the later years of his life.
Personal life
Olga Palinkaš was born in Zagreb to a Hungarian father and a ...
. At age 19, he audited a master's degree course on
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...
.
Career
Between 1996 and 2001, Päetow became a central player for CPT (Centre for Theatre Research). During this period, he created the experimental ''Prêt-à-Porter''. For this specific project, he directed, wrote and starred in five plays: ''Passengers'', ''Under the Bridge'', ''No Concert'', ''Hours of Punishment'' and ''Wings of the Shadow''.
His documents were also published later in book form, along with essays by
Renato Janine Ribeiro
Renato Janine Ribeiro is a Brazilian people, Brazilian full professor of ethics and political philosophy at the University of São Paulo. As of April 6, 2015, he was named Ministry of Education (Brazil), Minister of Education of Brazil in the cabi ...
and
Olgária Matos, among others.
In 1998, he worked as assistant director to
Daniela Thomas
Daniela Thomas (born 1959) is a Brazilian film director, screenwriter and editor.
Early life
In 1959, Thomas was born as Daniela Gontijo Alves Pinto in Brazil.
Thomas' father is Ziraldo Alves Pinto, a cartoonist. Thomas' brother is Antonio P ...
on
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
's ''
The Seagull
''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises t ...
'', starring
Fernanda Montenegro
Arlette Pinheiro Esteves Torres ONM (née da Silva; born 16 October 1929), known by her stage name Fernanda Montenegro ( /feʁˈnɐ̃dɐ mõtʃiˈnegɾu/), is a Brazilian stage, television and film actress. Considered by many the greatest Brazil ...
. In 1999, he worked on ''The Trojan Fragments'' which received the Theatre Shell Award and the Art Critics' Association Prize. This production had its world-premiere at the Istanbul International Theatre Festival and was also presented at the second
Theatre Olympics
The Theatre Olympics is a non-profit organisation that promotes theatrical exchange where dialogue between different theatremakers, irrespective of ideological, culture and language differences is encouraged. The primary output of the organisatio ...
in
Shizuoka
Shizuoka can refer to:
* Shizuoka Prefecture, a Japanese prefecture
* Shizuoka (city), the capital city of Shizuoka Prefecture
* Shizuoka Airport
* Shizuoka Domain, the name from 1868 to 1871 for Sunpu Domain, a predecessor of Shizuoka Prefecture
...
, where Päetow represented Brazil on the International Committee, with
Tadashi Suzuki
is a Japanese avant-garde theatre director, writer, and philosopher.
He is the founder and director of the Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT), and organizer of Japan’s first international theatre festival (Toga Festival). With American director An ...
,
Robert Wilson,
Yuri Lyubimov
Yuri Petrovich Lyubimov (russian: Ю́рий Петро́вич Люби́мов; 5 October 2014) was a Soviet and Russian stage actor and director associated with the internationally renowned Taganka Theatre, which he founded in 1964. He was one ...
,
Nuria Espert and Theodoros Terzopoulos. At this meeting, they discussed the performing arts of the next century.
[ In 2000, he debuted as an opera director with ]Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer.
Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...
's ''The Fairy-Queen
''The Fairy-Queen'' (1692; Purcell catalogue number Z.629) is a semi-opera by Henry Purcell; a "Restoration spectacular". The libretto is an anonymous adaptation of William Shakespeare's comedy '' A Midsummer Night's Dream''. First performed ...
''.
Thanks to arrangements between CPT and CICT (International Centre for Theatre Creation), Päetow was then allowed to watch the final rehearsals for Peter Brook
Peter Stephen Paul Brook (21 March 1925 – 2 July 2022) was an English theatre and film director. He worked first in England, from 1945 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, from 1947 at the Royal Opera House, and from 1962 for the Royal Shak ...
's ''Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'', at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord
The Bouffes du Nord is a theatre at 37 bis, boulevard de la Chapelle, in the 10th arrondissement of Paris located near the Gare du Nord. It has been listed since 1993 as a ''monument historique'' by the French Ministry of Culture.
History
Founde ...
, with Adrian Lester
Adrian Anthony Lester (born Anthony Harvey; 14 August 1968) is a British actor, director and writer. He is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, an Evening Standard Theatre Award and a Critics' Circle Theatre Award for his work on the Lo ...
. This year spent in Paris also enabled conversations with Cristiana Reali for a future collaboration on his, still unproduced, new play ''Washed-up Doc'', and with Claire Denis
Claire Denis (; born 21 April 1946) is a French film director and screenwriter. Her feature film ''Beau Travail'' (1999) has been called one of the greatest films of the 1990s, as well as of all time. Other acclaimed works include '' Trouble Ev ...
and Chantal Akerman
Chantal Anne Akerman (; 6 June 19505 October 2015) was a Belgian film director, screenwriter, artist, and Film studies, film professor at the City College of New York. She is best known for films such as ''Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 108 ...
, during her retrospective at the Studio des Ursulines, aimed at further developing his ''Prêt-à-Porters transfer from stage to screen.[ Before moving to ]Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, he took part in Jean Babilée Jean Babilée (real name Jean Gutman(n); 3 February 1923 – 30 January 2014) was a prominent France, French dancer and choreographer of the latter half of the 20th century. He is considered to have been one of modern ballet's greatest performers, a ...
's open masterclass at the Ballet de l'Opéra national de Paris
The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded a ...
. The following year, he reconnected with Sasha Waltz
Sacha, Sasha, Sascha, or ''variant'' may refer to:
People
* Sasha (name), includes list of people with the name and the variants Sascha or Sacha
Musicians
* Sasha (DJ) (born 1969), born Alexander Coe
* Sasha (German singer) (born 1972), born Sas ...
, with whom he had trained five years before, during her workshops at FID (São Paulo International Dance Festival).
In 2003, Päetow played the lead in the first Brazilian production of Sarah Kane
Sarah Kane (3 February 1971 – 20 February 1999) was an English playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. She is known for her plays that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture—both physical and psychological ...
's '' 4.48 Psychosis'', which ran nonstop until April 2004. After this, he presented, at the Volksbühne
The Volksbühne ("People's Theatre") is a theater in Berlin. Located in Berlin's city center Mitte on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (Rosa Luxemburg Square) in what was the GDR's capital. It has been called Berlin's most iconic theatre.
About
The Vol ...
, the marathon of five plays '' Rebellion in the Backlands'', staged by Zé Celso. In 2006, he created his first solo, entitled ''Plays'', based on the lecture written by Gertrude Stein
Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...
, to whom he also devoted a three-day event examining her life and works. In the same year, he performed the title role in Georg Büchner
Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büchn ...
's ''Leonce and Lena
''Leonce and Lena'' (german: Leonce und Lena) is a play by German dramatist Georg Büchner (1813–1837) which is considered a comedy, but is actually a satire veiled in humor. It was written in the spring of 1836 for a competition 'for the best ...
'', directed by Gabriel Villela, nominated as best actor by the Art Critics' Association. In 2007, Päetow directed his adaptation of Clarice Lispector
Clarice Lispector (born Chaya Pinkhasivna Lispector ( uk, Хая Пінкасівна Ліспектор); December 10, 1920December 9, 1977) was a Ukrainian-born Brazilian novelist and short story writer. Her innovative, idiosyncratic works exp ...
's novel '' Água Viva''. Then, commissioned by the Satyrianas Festival, he wrote the play ''Heaven in Heat'', which was presented under the pseudonym Zita Woulpe, an anagram of his name. In 2008, he starred in two productions: ''Cascando
''Cascando'' is a radio play by Samuel Beckett. It was written in French in December 1961, subtitled ''Invention radiophonique pour musique et voix'', with music by the Franco-Romanian composer Marcel Mihalovici. It was first broadcast on France ...
'' and '' Words & Music'' by Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...
. In 2009, he directed ''Music-Hall
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...
'' by Jean-Luc Lagarce, which he also translated and created the set/lighting designs, thus receiving the Theatre Shell Award. In 2010, he created his second solo, the endless ''Abracadabra'', nominated for the Shell Awards.
In 2011, Päetow premiered his third solo, ''Ex-Machines''. Back to Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, he developed a partnership with two musical ensembles, Klank and Trio Nexus, in order to create his play ''Der Hausierer'', freely based on the novel ''The Peddler'' by Peter Handke
Peter Handke (; born 6 December 1942) is an Austrian novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director, and screenwriter. He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored t ...
. This launched his project ''Taeter'', aimed at empowering anonymous voices and performed at undisclosed venues. The next year, he directed two dance pieces: ''Occurrences'' and ''Or Memory Reinvented'', both recipients of the São Paulo City Hall Dance Sponsorship. In 2014, he presented a new solo, ''Lazarus'', his adaptation of Hilda Hilst
Hilda Hilst (April 21, 1930 – February 4, 2004) was a Brazilian poet, novelist, and playwright. She is lauded as one of the most important Portuguese-language authors of the twentieth century. Her work touches on the themes of mysticism, insanit ...
's homonymous short story. Then, he coordinated an artistic residency inside the ruins of a historic movie theater, where he presented open rehearsals for ''W'', his next creation. In the same year, Päetow's previous plays were published in a three-volume box set. He would also start his second opera direction with ''Four Saints in Three Acts
''Four Saints in Three Acts'' is an opera composed in 1928 by Virgil Thomson, setting a libretto written in 1927 by Gertrude Stein. It contains about 20 saints and is in at least four acts. It was groundbreaking in form, content, and for its all-b ...
'', libretto by Gertrude Stein. In 2015, invited by Felipe Hirsch, he took part in ''Puzzle'', performing the poetry of Haroldo de Campos
Haroldo Eurico Browne de Campos (19 August 1929 – 16 August 2003) was a Brazilian poet, critic, professor and translator. He is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in Brazilian literature since 1950.
Biography
He did his secon ...
, Paulo Leminski
Paulo Leminski Filho (August 24, 1944 – June 7, 1989) was a Brazilian writer, poet, translator, journalist, advertising professional, songwriter, literary critic, biographer, teacher and judoka. He was noted for his avant-garde work, an experim ...
and Gregório de Matos
Gregório de Matos e Guerra (December 23, 1636 – November 26, 1696) was a famous Colonial Brazilian Baroque poet. Although he wrote many lyrical and religious poems, he was better known for his satirical ones, most of them criticizing the Cath ...
.
In 2019, Päetow's poem ''Theatre Capsule'' was published, with the first Brazilian translation of Gertrude Stein's '' Ida: A Novel''. After this, he started rehearsals for ''Sodom Gomorrah'', stylized as ''$ODOM\G/OMORRAH'', the posthumous play by Antunes Filho. The premiere moved from April 2020 to November 2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
. In the meantime, Päetow debuted as a filmmaker with ''Transmission'' and ''Transition'', a double feature inspired by elements of the play. The cast included Matheus Nachtergaele
Matheus Nachtergaele (born 3 January 1968) is a Brazilian actor, director, and screenwriter.
Career
He has starred in numerous Brazilian films, best known for his appearances in the 1997 film ''Four Days in September'' and the 2002 film '' City ...
, Grace Passô
Grace Passô (born May 20, 1980) is a Brazilian actress, director and playwright. Her film acting credits include '' Temporada'' and ''Praça Paris''.
As a writer, Passô has won the Associação Paulista de Críticos de Arte
The Associação P ...
and Christian Malheiros. The live theater version, namely ''Theatron'', ran for six months, until August 2022 at the Oficina, chosen as the world's best theatre by The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
. Receiving great acclaim, the press also pointed out that his creation would, certainly, impact current ways of consuming culture.
Awards and nominations
* Theatre Shell - nomination for ''Abracadabra'' (2011)[
* Theatre Shell][ - award for ''Music-Hall'' (2010)][
* Art Critics' Association - nomination for ''Leonce and Lena'' (2007)][
* Brazil's Artistic Quality - nomination for ''4.48 Psychosis'' (2004)][
* Theatre Shell][ - award for ''Prêt-à-Porter'' (1998-2008)][
* Art Critics' Association - award for ''The Trojan Fragments'' (2000)][
* Theatre Shell][ - award for ''The Trojan Fragments'' (2000)][
]
References
External links
Luiz Päetow at ''Théâtre Contemporain''
(in French)
Luiz Päetow at ''Positive Den''
(in Portuguese)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paetow, Luiz
1979 births
Living people
20th-century Brazilian male actors
21st-century Brazilian male actors
Brazilian male child actors
Brazilian male stage actors
Male actors from São Paulo