O leitor (Reader by the hour)

In 2006, Christiane Jatahy adapted in Brazil one of the most fascinating works of contemporary Spanish theatre, Reader by the hour by José Sanchis Sinisterra. A partner and close collaborator of the playwright for nearly 15 years, she brought together on stage Ana Beatriz Nogueira, Sebastião Vasconcelos, and Luciano Chirolli. The play quickly achieved great critical and popular success.

It tells the story of a man (Luciano Chirolli) hired by the father (Sebastião Vasconcelos) of a blind young woman (Ana Beatriz Nogueira) to read to her. What caused her blindness remains unknown: a mystery surrounds the enigmatic accident that took away her sight and led her to withdraw from life. Literature serves as a mirror for a strange triangular relationship that unfolds into intense feelings and power games.
The dramaturgy builds labyrinthine situations in which one never knows what is true or false. As in life, the audience of Reader by the hour witnesses fragmented actions, overhears snatches of dialogue, and must themselves construct, through imagination and memory, the ultimate meaning of the play.

In Christiane Jatahy’s staging, the audience sits around the performance space, thus becoming included in the action. Each group of spectators has a particular point of view on the scene, which changes over the course of the play. This closeness allows every breath, every atmosphere, every intonation, and every clue dropped in this curious emotional game to be captured. The scene evolves through changes in lighting and set design, creating the impression that everything is in motion. As if we were inside a labyrinth, or within a kaleidoscope. With each scene, a different perspective appears: fragments from multiple angles, nearness and distance, the same elements repeating themselves under new points of view.

O leitor (Reader by the Hour)

de Christiane Jatahy
Based on the book of José Sanchis Sinistera
Traduction by Geraldo Carneiro
With Ana Beatriz Nogueira, Luciano Chirolli, Sebastião Vasconselos

Premiere on January 12, 2006
At Theater III of Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil