Founded in 2001 by Lenerson Polonini in partnership with Carina Casuscelli, the company develops a continuous research work based on the performance, the arts of the body and the visual arts universe. The Companhia Nova de Teatro is an open company and to each new project invites actors, dancers and artists from different areas to collaborate with its productions. The multimedia theater developed by the company seeks to explore the three-dimensionality of the stage and the relationship of art and urgent social issues.

The performances privilege the physical aspect of the actor in the scene, where they do not represent "papers", but they function as icons, images and vehicles through which the public receives a multiplicity of visual and auditory events, as if it were inside a stimulus box synchronized sensorial.

In the trajectory of the group, the authors are: Samuel Beckett, Heiner Muller, Gertrude Stein, Wilhelm Reich, Edgar Allan Poe, Marco Martinelli and Richard Foreman, as well as works by own dramaturgy.

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Over nearly 25 years dedicated to experimental theater in the city of São Paulo, the group has presented its plays across Brazil and at festivals and theaters in countries such as the United States, Greece, Italy, Romania, Iran, Iraq, Russia, Uruguay, Germany, India, Tunisia, among others.

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Group's Trajectory

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2002 and 2003 

• Performance “Beckett Repertoire”, featuring "Act Without Words I and II," "Come and Go" and "That Time" (starring Paulo César Peréio). Staged at Cultura Inglesa Theatre and SESI and SESC units across São Paulo.​

• Performance “Berceuse”, the French version of Beckett's “Rockby” featuring dancer Renée Gumiel, showcased at Bloomsday, organized by Haroldo de Campos.

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2004

• Performance “Beckett Repertoire 2: Not I, Ohio Impromptu, and Catastrophe” presented at SESC Consolação, and other SESC units in São Paulo.

2005    ​

• “Beckett Repertoire 3”: Waiting for Godot and Breath, presented at Teatro Sérgio Cardoso in July, and in September at Galeria Olido in São Paulo.

• "Ulysses" performance, inspired by James Joyce, featured in two editions of Virada Cultural and Bloomsday events.

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2006 ​

• “Beckett Repertoire 3”, toured through cities in São Paulo state, supported by the Caravana Paulista de Teatro Award from the Secretary of Culture of São Paulo.

• “Samuel Beckett 100 Years Cycle", organized by Polonini and held at SESC Santana, showcasing Beckett Repertoire 1, 2, and 3 in full, bringing together several theater groups and scholars, including Gerald Thomas, Rubens Rusche, Luis Fernando Ramos, and Célia Berrerttini.

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2007

• "Dante and Beatriz – A Journey through São Paulo’s hell’s," inspired by Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy," lasting six hours during the Virada Cultural event organized by São Paulo’s Municipal Culture Department.

• Heiner Müller Cycle, featuring performances, discussions, video screenings, workshops, and process demonstrations, exploring the world of the prominent German playwright and his influences. The event included contributions from researchers and collaborators such as Márcio Aurélio, Ingrid Koudela, Marinela Ansaldi, Marcos Bulhões, and Márcio Meirelles.
  During this event, hosted by SESC Pinheiros, Companhia Nova de Teatro presented “Heiner Müller in Repertoire”, featuring the plays Medeamaterial, Hamletmachine, and Description of an Image.

2008 ​

• Two editions of the Heiner Müller Cycle were presented at SESC Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro, in partnership with the Goethe Institut, and at SESC Campinas, SP.

• Performances “I, Machado de Assis” and “M de Machado,” starring actor Paulo César Peréio and musician Wilson Sukorski, part of the Municipal Virada Cultural event.

2009 and 2010

• "Doctor Faustus Light the Lights" with a season from March to April 2009 at the Oficina Cultural Oswald de Andrade, received critical acclaim and was nominated for the CPT Award for Best Visual Project.

• Restaging of “Heiner Müller in Repertoire” to commemorate the author’s 80th birthday, with a season at Galeria Olido and Oficina Cultural Oswald de Andrade from August to September 2009.

• The show “Listen, Little Man!” was presented from October to December 2009 at SESC Av. Paulista, based on Reich’s ideas and starring Paulo Cesar Peréio. It reopened at Centro Cultural Oi Futuro, Rio, with a season in January and February 2010.

2011 - To celebrate the group’s 10th anniversary, four plays were staged:

• “Heiner Müller in Repertoire” and “Doctor Faustus Light the Lights” ran at Cacilda Becker Theatre in São Paulo, with a season in July.

• “Caminos Invisibles...La Partida” a group-written piece on Andean immigration, performed at Centro Cultural São Paulo in September and October, written by Carina Casuscelli, and nominated for the CPT Award for Alternative Space Occupancy.

• “The Crypt of Poe” a multimedia production inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s work, in collaboration with Italy’s group Teatro del Contagio, ran at Centro Cultural São Paulo in December.

2012 ​

• “The Crypt of Poe” received a new Site-Specific adaptation designed specifically for the Castelinho do Flamengo in Rio de Janeiro, receiving strong public and media response, with a season in January and February.

• "Premio Internazionale Teatro dell’Inclusione Teresa Pomodoro" in Milan, Italy, for “Caminos Invisibles...La Partida", with a performance at Spazio Nohma.

2013

• “Caminos Invisibles... La Partida” runs at Sesc Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, throughout March.

• Artistic residency for the company’s core team at Attis Theatre, under the renowned director Theodoros Terzopoulos, in Athens, Greece, where the work-in-progress of the “Krísis” project is presented in June, with support from the Ministry of Culture.

• “Companhia Nova de Teatro Occuption” at Sesc Bom Retiro, featuring the plays: “Krisis” (final version) and “Caminos Invisibles” in July, with discussions, workshops, and performances.

2015

• Revival of “The Crypt Poe” with a Brazilian cast, running at Biblioteca Parque Centro in Rio de Janeiro, in January and February. In June, the company presents the performance “Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights” by Gertrude Stein, as a special opening act for the exhibition “Costume at the Turn of the Century 1990-2015” at the Bakhrushin State Central Theatre Museum, Moscow.

• 2x Foreman project (Bad Boy Nietzsche and Prostitutas Fora de Moda), by playwright Richard Foreman, receives funding from PROAC Production, Secretary of State for Culture, and runs at SP Escola de Teatro.

2016

• Season of the play “Noise in the Water” by Italian playwright Marco Martinelli, funded by the Zé Renato Theater Award, Secretary of Municipal Culture of São Paulo.

• “The Crypt of  Poe” tours 8 cities through the Circuito Cultural, Secretary of State for Culture of São Paulo.

2017

• Season of “The Gods Are Pounding my Head”, by Richard Foreman, at SESC Pinheiros, São Paulo, in September and October.

• Performances of “Noise in the Waters” at Virada Cultural São Paulo.

2019

• Performances of “The Crypt of Poe” at Centro Cultural Olido as part of the 210th anniversary celebrations of Edgar Allan Poe.

• The group presents its work-in-progress project “Kassandra-Hécuba” at the Analogio Festival (Athens), 25 Ore Non-Stop Festival in Sibiu, and Teatro Arta in Bucharest, both in Romania.

2020

• Mini-season of the plays “Noise in the Waters” and “APÁTRIDAS PART 1” at Centro Cultural Olido, as part of the FarOFFa Festival program.

• Performance of “Noise in the Waters” at Sesc São José do Rio Preto.

• Creation of the DIÁLOGOS series on Instagram, featuring 40 personalities from the arts, culture, and other fields.

2021

• Online season of “The Crypt of Poe”, supported by PROAC EXPRESS – Lei Aldir Blanc.

• Presentation of “The Crypt of Poe” at the Funarte Virtual Theater Festival.

• Participation of Sibiu Performing Arts Market, hybrid format.

• Online season of the Foreman Trilogy Project (BadBoy Nietzsche, Old Fashoned Prostitutes and The Gods Are Pounding My Head), by American playwright Richard Foreman, funded by PROAC Express – Lei Aldir Blanc, Secretary of State for Culture.

• Premiere and season of “Apátridas” (Stateless), at Arthur de Azevedo Theater, with support from PROAC Express – Lei Aldir Blanc.

2022

• The group is awarded funding through the “Programa Municipal de Fomento ao Teatro para a Cidade de São Paulo” to develop the project “Companhia Nova de Teatro + 20 Years”, featuring lectures, workshops, a repertoire showcase, a premiere, and a book documenting the company’s history.

• Performances of “Apátridas” (Stateless), at Teatro Nohma, Milan (Italy), as part of the “International Prize Teresa Pomodoro”.

• Season of the Foreman Trilogy Project (BadBoy Nietzsche, Old Fashoned Prostitutes and The Gods Are Pounding My Head), by American playwright Richard Foreman, held at Centro Cultural Olido, funded by the “Programa Municipal de Fomento ao Teatro para a Cidade de São Paulo” as a part of “Companhia Nova de Teatro + 20 Years”.

• Season of the play “Noise in the Waters” (Barulho D’água), by playwright Marco Martinelli, held at Centro Cultural Olido, funded by the “Programa Municipal de Fomento ao Teatro para a Cidade de São Paulo” as a part of “Companhia Nova de Teatro + 20 Years”.

• Season of the play Caminos Invisibles... La Partida, by playwright Carina Casuscelli, held at Centro Cultural Olido, funded by the “Programa Municipal de Fomento ao Teatro para a Cidade de São Paulo” as a part of “Companhia Nova de Teatro + 20 Years”.

2023

• Performances of “Apátridas”(Stateless) in Tehran, Iran, at the Fajr International Theater Festival, and at the Baghdad International Theatre Festival (Iraq).

• Performances of “Noise in the Waters” (Barulho D'água) as part of the Viagem Teatral SESI project.

• World premiere of the play A Scream in the Dark, with a season at the renowned La MaMa Experimental Theatre, in New York.

• Launch of the second season of the DIÁLOGOS series on Instagram, featuring Ailton Krenak, Milo Rau, Marco Martinelli, Ferdinando Martins, among others.

• Premiere and season of the play “Entrelaçados”, directed and written by Carina Casuscelli.

• Performance of “A Scream in the Dark” at the FITUU- Festival Internacional de Teatro Unipersonal del Uruguay.

2024

• Launch and distribution of 1,000 copies of the bilingual book “Companhia Nova de Teatro - Two Decades in Images” at Oficina Cultural Oswald de Andrade, funded by the “Programa Municipal de Fomento ao Teatro para a Cidade de São Paulo” as a part of “Companhia Nova de Teatro + 20 Years”.

• Performance of “Apátridas” (Stateless), at the ITFOK - International Theatre Festival of Kerala, Thrissur, India.

• Performances of “A Scream in the Dark” at Baullhaus Prinzenallee in Berlin.

• Performance of " A Scream in the Dark", at Youth Theatre Fest in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

• Participation with the work “Open Works” at the Re-Fest, promoted by Culture Hub in New York.

• Performance of “A Scream in the Dark” at JTC - Journées Théâtrales de Carthage, in Tunisia, north Africa.​​​​​​​​​

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LENERSON POLONINI