A TRIAL – after The Enemy of the People

“Truth is over. That’s what scares me the most. It’s over. There are no more facts—only versions. And when truth loses its value, then this entire room—and everything it represents—becomes a performance.”

Henrik Ibsen sets his play An Enemy of the People in a spa town where, after years of crisis, the inhabitants are beginning to make a living from tourism.  But Thomas Stockmann, the doctor in charge of the spa, discovers that the waters are polluted and decides to write an article for the press, thereby jeopardising the local economy.   His dealings with the press, politicians – his brother, Peter, is the town’s mayor – and the local population turn into a clash of interests. 

Thomas rejects any compromise, refuses to give up his ideas and, in a fit of rage during a public meeting, proclaims himself the only person capable of deciding what is best for the town’s inhabitants.

The town then decide to declare Thomas Stockmann an ‘enemy of the people’, and the play ends with his public lynching and his and his family’s exile.

A trial – which follows on from An Enemy of the People – picks up the story several years later. It raises a number of issues for debate, such as : the truth today; the relationship between moral imperatives and the economy; the way in which people’s lives are affected by public trials; and the way in which fascism uses democratic principles to destroy democracy.

In this staging concept, these dialogues take place in a fictional courtroom where the audience acts as the jury in the confrontation between the play’s characters. Ibsen’s work is reimagined through evidence, witness statements and the family and personal relationships of the characters on stage.

Wagner Moura oscillates between reality and fiction, between himself and his character, Thomas Stockmann. This boundary between reality and fiction, between the actor and his character, as well as the creation of a dynamic dramatic structure—brought to life in part through the audience’s participation—permeates the entire play.

The three actors – Wagner Moura, Julia Bernat and Danilo Grangheia – work in perfect harmony with the research into language led by the director, Christiane Jatahy, in which the fine line between acting and performance is constantly blurred, making it impossible to tell when they are improvising and when they are actually performing.

Audience Participation
Each night, eleven people who register before the show are randomly selected to serve as the jury. In addition to asking questions during the performance, they are the ones who will decide at the end whether Thomas Stockmann is—or is not—an Enemy of the People from today’s perspective.

A project by Christiane Jatahy and Wagner Moura
Concept and Direction: Christiane Jatahy 
Text: Christiane Jatahy, Lucas Paraizo, and Wagner Moura 

Set Design, Lighting, and Artistic Collaboration: Thomas Walgrave
Video: Julio Parente
Costumes: Marina Franco
Director of Photography and Camera: Paulo Camacho
Sound design and mixing: Pedro Vituri

With Wagner Moura, Danilo Grangheia, Julia Bernat

and in the film: Marjorie Estiano, Jonas Bloch, and Salvador Moura 
Online participation: Tatiana Henrique 
Children in the film: Antonio Falcão, Henry Soares Paes Leme, and José Moura 
Production and Distribution Coordination: Henrique Mariano 
Administration: Charlotte Pesle Beal and Lison Bellanger (EPOC Productions)

Production: Axis Productions 

Co-production: Edinburgh International Festival (Scotland), Avignon Festival (France), Holland Festival (Amsterdam, Netherlands), Centro Cultural de Belém (Lisbon, Portugal), DeSingel (Antwerp, Belgium)
With the support of the UCLA Center for the Performing Arts (Los Angeles, USA) and the Instituto Guimarães Rosa – IGR – Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Brasília, Brazil)

Cie Vertice – Axis Productions is supported by the Île-de-France Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs and the French Ministry of Culture.

World Premiere October 2, 2025 – Espaço Trapiche, Salvador, Bahia