Community project premieres at Aveirense Theatre
Published at — 12 June 2025
The community project OLAS (Objetos e Laboratórios Artísticos e Sociais), promoted by the Aveiro City Council and produced by the Teatro Aveirense, will stage its second edition. With text and artistic direction by João Garcia Miguel, the new show is entitled ‘O Navio dos Sonhos e a Ilha dos Amores’ (The Ship of Dreams and the Island of Loves) and once again draws on the stories and daily life of Aveiro for its creation. It premieres at the Aveirense Theatre on 13 June at 7pm, with free admission.
Set against a backdrop where the real and the imaginary merge, ‘The Ship of Dreams and the Island of Loves’ is a theatrical journey that delves into the essence of humanity through the charismatic figures of Aveiro - those characters that everyone recognises on the streets but who live on the fringes of conventionality. They are the ‘madmen’, the radicals, the poets of existence, who challenge the boundaries of reality and invite us to question what normality really is.
On board a symbolic ship sailing between the estuary and the sea, these protagonists embark on a journey to the mythical Ilha dos Amores, a place where dreams materialise and passions reveal themselves. Along the way, they meet iconic figures from Portuguese poetry, such as Gil Vicente, Luís de Camões, Fernando Pessoa and Alexandre O'Neill, each of whom dialogues with the protagonists and reflects on universal themes such as love, freedom, madness and art.
OLAS (Objetos e Laboratórios Artísticos e Sociais) was created as part of the Aveiro Portuguese Capital of Culture 2024, as part of one of the participation programmes, Breaking Walls, dedicated to working with the community, namely the non-professional cultural and creative sector in the Aveiro region. It proposes a reflection on the territory and the relationships established within it through artistic practices, in order to strengthen ties between citizens, encouraging their active participation in building the future.
The initiative is based on a multidisciplinary system of learning and artistic exploration, with a focus on the performing arts. This new edition promises to continue the mission of involving the community in artistic creation and realisation.
Set against a backdrop where the real and the imaginary merge, ‘The Ship of Dreams and the Island of Loves’ is a theatrical journey that delves into the essence of humanity through the charismatic figures of Aveiro - those characters that everyone recognises on the streets but who live on the fringes of conventionality. They are the ‘madmen’, the radicals, the poets of existence, who challenge the boundaries of reality and invite us to question what normality really is.
On board a symbolic ship sailing between the estuary and the sea, these protagonists embark on a journey to the mythical Ilha dos Amores, a place where dreams materialise and passions reveal themselves. Along the way, they meet iconic figures from Portuguese poetry, such as Gil Vicente, Luís de Camões, Fernando Pessoa and Alexandre O'Neill, each of whom dialogues with the protagonists and reflects on universal themes such as love, freedom, madness and art.
OLAS (Objetos e Laboratórios Artísticos e Sociais) was created as part of the Aveiro Portuguese Capital of Culture 2024, as part of one of the participation programmes, Breaking Walls, dedicated to working with the community, namely the non-professional cultural and creative sector in the Aveiro region. It proposes a reflection on the territory and the relationships established within it through artistic practices, in order to strengthen ties between citizens, encouraging their active participation in building the future.
The initiative is based on a multidisciplinary system of learning and artistic exploration, with a focus on the performing arts. This new edition promises to continue the mission of involving the community in artistic creation and realisation.
