What is justice? And the injustice? Uma Ideia de Justiça, by Joana Providência, with a text by Isabel Minhós Martins, is a show that literally brings these questions to the table, a table where an attempt is made to construct a notion of justice. Around it, there are special chairs for everyone to sit on: those with long legs, those who can't sit still, those who come all the time and those who aren't usually invited.

On it, various props: for example, a platter full of fruit. Who is more hungry? Who hasn't eaten yet? Who has the right to this fruit? Similar questions arise when rights, duties or freedoms are on the table. By addressing issues such as diversity, choice, equality and freedom, the show wants to be a tool for building justice. And to respond to Sophia de Mello Breyner’s question: “Whoever sees the amazing splendor of the world is logically led to see the amazing suffering of the world.”

A show aimed at 1st and 2nd cycles.




At the root of an idea of justice

JOANA PROVIDENCIA

Whoever seeks a just relationship with the stone, with the tree, with the river, is necessarily led, by the spirit of truth that animates him, to seek a just relationship with man. He who sees the awesome splendor of the world is logically led to see the awesome suffering of the world.

Sophia de Mello Breyner – Poetic Art III

The permanent challenge launched by Sophia de Mello Breyner is the theme of this show. The idea of justice and, naturally, the urgency to point out injustice in its many faces, are its starting point. This creation problematizes justice, which often seems deceptively immediate, deceptively inevitable, deceptively safe, until the moment when we witness the presence of injustice, and then realize that it needs permanent care. “Laws are like cobwebs that trap the weak and small insects, but are broken by the big and strong”: the age-old interpellation of Anacársis echoes in the contemporary world with a disconcerting relevance. During the process, we listened to the boys and girls of the first cycle of Escola das Flores. It was really enriching to hear their voices complain about small injustices committed in the playground, among colleagues, and even in relationships with adults, both at home and at school. It was surprising to realize that, in most situations, even the youngest clearly recognized the moments when they felt injustice. When we asked them about the moments when they felt that justice had been done, or when they had been fair, it became much more difficult for these boys and girls to find unequivocal situations and moments on how to implement an idea of justice. Still in contact with these children, we launched the proposal of imagining a tree of injustice and, from there, thinking about what words were found in the root and leaves of that tree. Everyone joined immediately and genuinely, quickly the room was filled with fingers in the air, and quickly the tree was covered with words such as: lying, machismo, enemy, missing a commitment, excluding, not having freedom of expression, war, struggle, sadness, lack of respect, not listening. Regarding the tree of justice, the words released were: sharing, equality, saving the world, diversity, freedom, peace, harmony, doing good, friendship. In this complex search for what injustice and justice are, the most important thing is to put ourselves in the place of the other, or others, and in this relationship with the world we are led to re-dimension our notion of injustice and, consequently, of justice. An Idea of Justice addresses issues as relevant as diversity, choice, equality, freedom, and it should be noted that the very creation of the show is seen as a tool for building justice, by integrating Portuguese Sign Language into the scene, seeking a greater and more real proximity to diverse audiences.