Corpo em Crise arises from research into how the 2008 economic crisis inscribes itself in the human body, transforming into existential crisis.

The creative process was based on active listening and the bodily translation of real testimonies. The 18 interviews conducted, each 60–80 minutes long, became the dramaturgical material of the work. Later, through a final workshop with the interviewees themselves, direct body-to-body contact allowed their physical realities to contaminate the scenic work. Ultimately, these 18 people, representing different realities in society, were the ones who gave shape to this piece.

Some of these stories were truly hard, but even the lightest left a bitter taste in our mouths. All these stories, from randomly selected people, had an undercurrent of suffering and powerlessness. Regardless of their personal happiness and economic capacity, speaking of the crisis brought up a great fear of powerful agents that can hardly be identified.

After this gathering of information and its analysis, the creation phase began on the compiled material, through improvisations both indoors and in the street. This encounter between the documentary and the poetic generated a dramaturgy that deepens the concepts running transversally through the interviews. The bodily work focused on finding ways to communicate complex emotions and concepts without falling into literal illustration, creating a gestural language that dignifies pain without exploiting it. Using as a basis what we had found in the joint workshop with the interviewees.

We were fortunate to have great artists for the musical and lighting creation, who were part of the creative process from the start.