The Parque Mayer Fair opened on 15th June 1922, to revive the old fairgrounds of the capital, according to the demands of modern times. Bordering on Avenida da Liberdade, a new space was born, with food, drinks, and entertainment, including theatres. The Maria Vitória was inaugurated that same year, on the 1st of July. In the following years, three more theatres opened: Variedades (1926), Capitólio (1931) and ABC (1956). In this exhibition, curated by Paula Gomes Magalhães, the primary meaning of openness is evoked – the rehabilitation of fairgrounds in a permanent manner – its entertainment and the theatres. They transformed it into one of the most important cultural centres in the city and elevated the Revue to preferred theatre category. It was at Parque Mayer that the Revue took on new formal and aesthetic outlines, with renovations driven by the modernist movement and jazz-band rhythms. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the Revue assumed all its splendour, and Parque Mayer established itself as the «Cathedral» of the Theatre Revue. This exhibition, which will take place in Praça dos Restauradores, during the month of July, is organized by the National Museum of Theatre and Dance and the Lisbon City Council – Municipal Directorate of Culture, in partnership with the Centre for Theatre Studies of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon.

Event organizors:

Museu Nacional do Teatro e da Dança Câmara Municipal de Lisboa – Direção Municipal de Cultura
Centro de Estudos de Teatro da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa (Partner)

Legenda da Imagem:
Music from Lua Nova revue, the play that opened the Maria Vitória Theatre.
1922, National Museum of Theatre and Dance (MNT 67710)