Milton Nascimento’s song about the dances of life says that the artist must go where the people are. If it is so with those who work in music, it is the same with those who work in the theatre, whose clothes are equally wet and their souls full of dirt. This year, successful performances attracted crowds to public houses, creating more movement on the city streets. In the second semester, the audience at the Carlos Gomez Municipal Theater, in central Rio, for example, experienced catharsis during the performances of “(Um) Ensaio sobre a Blindness,” which was reflected in the social networks of the Grupo Galpão and the spectators. This success was similar to that of “O Céu da Língua”, which Gregorio Duvivier debuted at the beginning of the year in the recently renovated house on Praça Tiradentes, which is already 153 years old.
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— We had nearly 200,000 spectators in this first year of the play. About 50 thousand in Rio alone. If there is no audience, we will be toast, because we have no sponsorship, and we are putting money out of our own pockets. It was the audience who paid for the play. And I am even happier because I made my debut at Carlos Gomez, this historic theater that has been closed for a long time – says the artist, winner of the 2025 Pepe Ferreira Award in the category Best Theater Actor for his monologue.
Inspired by José Saramago’s book published 30 years ago, “(Essay) on Blindness,” by Grupo Galbao, it addresses questions about morality, ethics, and communal life. The show was also held on the sidewalk of the renovated Carlos Gomez building, which was packed with people, as was the stage.
– After the pandemic, there has been, in fact, a significant increase in the public’s increasingly interest in theatre, in the possibility of face-to-face meetings that the theater allows. Obviously, public theaters are more popular because private theaters are expensive, says Eduardo Moreira, actor and co-founder of Grupo Galpão.
“I can’t continue”
The search rate for theaters in the city has risen significantly: 1,073 productions submitted projects to the Municipal Ministry of Culture this year, compared to 722 last year, an increase of 39%. Moreover, in the period from January to October, the 13 municipal theaters received, on average, 178,702 spectators, who attended 1,692 sessions of 415 performances – an increase of 65.6% compared to the total audience registered in 2024, of 107,915 spectators.
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Lucas Padilha, the municipal culture secretary, says now is the time to strengthen this sector:
– The year 2024 was marked by the reopening of many theaters in the municipal network, a symbolic moment. We start 2025 with a bigger mission: to reposition our theaters in the social imagination and in the everyday life of Rio’s cultural scene.
Yoga teacher Raisa Chuk Rochol, a 34-year-old from Rio Grande do Sul who has lived in Rio since 2019, is one of those spectators who contribute to the promotion of public theaters in Rio.
— I’m from Porto Alegre (RS). There, the options are very limited. In Rio, we cannot keep up with the agenda. I call my friends and ask them: “What’s going on today?” And I choose my battles – Kidding, who lives in Flamingo, in the southern region. – Recently I saw very good ones for R$10 and R$20. Prices are fair. The next play will be a play with an indigenous actress (“Azerai”, by Robbins Corea). Diversity is great.
Another survey, this time by Sesc, shows the effervescence of the city’s cultural scene: the Cultural Notice Sesc RJ Pulsar 2025/2026, from which the attractions are selected to compose the programme, received almost five thousand registrations for the project last year in the most diverse languages (theatre, music, dance, visual arts, etc.), from all over the country. The number was a record.
This month, the entity will reopen the Sesc Ginástico, in the centre, where tickets sold out within a few hours for the reading of Simone de Beauvoir by Fernanda Montenegro on December 13 and 14. Naturally, success was expected. The goal in the coming years is to attract more children, more members of traditional communities and other audiences to theatre.
– We want to strengthen communication with the surrounding communities and democratize access to theater, in an increasingly broader way – says Fernanda de Carvalho, artistic coordinator of Sesc in Copacabana.
João Caetano, which was reopened by the state government in November last year, had attracted 20,000 people to shows by the end of 2024. In 2025, from January to November, the audience reached 145,000.
– Projeto Fim de Tarde continues as our flagship, since 2021, every Tuesday of the year, with an average of 1,080 spectators, taking into account the capacity of 1,139 seats – says Markus Idom, director of the theater.
He says other programs have maintained average attendances of around 1,000 spectators, including the Folkloric Ballet of Bahia, which has not performed at João Caetano’s for 30 years.
– We were 212 years old! This year has been a real celebration – complete.
Naturally, high demand increases competition. Producers and more theater workers are looking for training courses to learn how to apply for castings and get on stages for shows.
Eduardo Barata, a cultural producer who celebrates 40 years of his work in theater next year, believes that the new “thirst” for theater is the effect of artistic currents that have strengthened during the pandemic and as a reaction to the boycott of art that has reverberated at the national level.
— In 2019, extreme ignorance was present in the executive branch and in many councils and chambers. When this passed, our sector became stronger. Until 2023 there were periods of reconstruction. The social network was used to resonate theatrical expression. This has expanded the community’s desire and knowledge of what we do, which is what happens live, he emphasizes, who presents in Carlos Gomez with “Admirável Sertão by Zé Ramalho”.
But the new reality still poses challenges. The producer recalls that due to waves of violence in major cities, public behavior has changed. Play times have been moved up, and people want to get home before midnight.
– Security remains a very present issue and challenge. The transfer ends earlier and earlier. People come up to me when I’m in the theater, complaining about the schedule. Saturday and Sunday I would do plays at 5pm. He says: In the past, this time was for children.
Another challenge, which both Baratta and Gregorio Duvivier recall, relates to ticket agents, the companies that are hired to facilitate online ticket purchases. There are complaints among spectators and theater workers about high comfort rates and poor communication.
— Unfortunately, we had to deal with the worst ticket agent I’ve ever seen. However, the audience went — says the actor.
For Parata, improvements in communication channels, ticket offices and customer service can help cut through the noise in sales.
— Ticket offices offer the lowest prices, not the best business. This harms the audience, the show, and communication with theatergoers. We try to overcome this problem through the Internet, but not all places have their own networks – Barata explains. — In many cases, the convenience fee people pay is roughly half the price.
In response to GLOBO, the Municipal Ministry of Culture says that “part of the cultural equipment is currently working with a contracting company on an emergency basis” and that this measure has been adopted “to ensure continuity of service”, and that a new tender process is about to take place.