Famalicão was the stage, in Portugal, of the commemorations of the 400th anniversary of Molière's birth, an event that mobilised hundreds of people from Famalicão's artistic and school community. Through Casa das Artes and the department of Culture, Famalicão ensured the realisation of the programme that took place between May 5 and 7, with particular emphasis on the stage work of 3rd cycle students, who performed at the renovated Narciso Ferreira Theatre last May 7, under the watchful eye of the Mayor, Mário Passos, who attended the three plays based on Molière's texts.
Throughout the three days of the commemorations, there were a series of initiatives promoted by the French Embassy/French Institute of Portugal, the Alliance Française Guimarães-Braga, the E.Leclerc distribution network and the Culturissimo Festival. The celebrations in Famalicão started with the premiere of "The Tricks of Scapin", a co-production of ACE Famalicão, Casa das Artes de Famalicão, presented on May 5 and 6, at the municipal theatre.
The recently opened Narciso Ferreira Theatre, in Riba de Ave, hosted the School Theatre Festival, performed by students from the Gondifelos, D. Sancho I and Padre Benjamim Salem schools. Sancho I and Padre Benjamim Salgado, who presented on stage, in French, and under the guidance of their French teachers, the plays "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme", "L'Ecole des Femmes ou L'Oiseau en Cage" and "Les Femmes Savantes ou Debout les Carottes", in what was the culmination of months of work in school context.
"I had already visited the Narciso Ferreira Theatre, but this was my debut as a spectator" comments Mário Passos, who underlined his enormous satisfaction in seeing "the direct involvement of students and teachers of the Famalicense school groups in this event, which places, once again, Famalicão as one of the stages of cultural projects of international importance".
The closing of the commemorations of the 400th anniversary of the birth of one of the most emblematic figures of the theatre in France and in the world, happened last Saturday evening, the 7th, with the reading of excerpts from the play "Le Tartuffe" (The Imposter), by the actor Eric Génovèse, of the Comédie Française, at the large auditorium of Casa das Artes. The prestigious French actor, who in 2023 completes 30 years of career, performed at the invitation of Culturissimo Festival, and in the afternoon of the same day, held a masterclass with the students of the theatre course of ACE Escola de Artes Famalicão, stating to have been surprised with the involvement that the initiative registered in the school community.
After the reading by Eric Génovèse, the name of the winning group of the School Theatre Festival was revealed, the "Agrupamento de Escolas Padre Benjamim Salgado", whose prize is a trip to Bordeaux (France), sponsored by the hypermarket E.Leclerc de Famalicão. It was also delivered the participation prize to all the students involved in the project, consisting of two books in French offered by the same hypermarket and the Festival Culturissimo. These gifts were delivered by the hand of the official entities present, namely the town councillors for Education and Culture, Augusto Lima and Pedro Oliveira, the Attaché for Educational and Linguistic Cooperation of the French Embassy in Portugal, Clarisse Boudard, and the manager of E.Leclerc Famalicão, Bernadette Martins.
It should be noted that the closing session of the celebrations in Famalicão was also attended by the president of the Luso-French Chamber of Commerce, Fabrice Lachize, the responsible for the Culturissimo Festival, Marie Jose Cegarra, and the advisor for Educational and Linguistic Cooperation of the French Embassy in Portugal/French Institute, Sofiane Farhra.