Moby Dick

About

Maria João Cruz adapted Herman Melville’s text and António Pires directed this São Luiz production. The staging distills the epic into maritime signs—a whale, a captain, a ship, the sea, and sailors—framing the voyage as an inquiry into the human condition rather than a literal retelling. Pires described it as a tragedy of contradiction, hate, and revenge. Beyond the stage, the project included a foyer video installation by Pires and Cruz and whale-related scientific documentaries, with contributions from collaborators across scenography, costumes, lighting, original music, and sound.