Galleon Theater Company Presents THE MAIAS at The Greenwich Playhouse, Mar. 8 - Apr. 3

José Maria Eça de Queirós(1845-1900), was thefounding father of the Portuguese novel. He was a remarkable writer whom Émile Zoladescribed as being ‘far greater than my own master, Flaubert.' He was a master of satire who sought to expose the hypocrisy of a provincial Lisbonsociety whichslavishly paidhomage to the cultural eminence of Paris and Romanticism. Eça'sfiction is characterised by its barbed humour and lyrical descriptionsbut it is also tempered by a touching sympathy for humanity's foibles.

At the age of sixteen Eçawent to Coimbra University to study Law and by 1867 was a  practising lawyer; a profession which he abandoned tojoin the diplomatic service. He served as Consul in Havana (1872-74); in Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1874-79); in Bristol (1879-88); and finally, in Paris where he lived until his death. The Newcastle years were the most productive of his literary career. He published a revisedversion of The Crime of Father Amaro(1876); thecelebrated novel Cousin Basílio(1878), and worked on his collection of Letters from London. "On the Basis of at least half a dozen books Eça ought to be up there with Dickens, Balzac and Tolstoy as one of the nineteenth century's talismanic names.'-Jonathan Keates, The Observer.

Although Eçawas an admirer of British literature he was not enamoured by English society. In Bristol he wrote: "Everything about this society is disagreeable to me -from its limited way of thinking to its indecent manner of cooking vegetables."As often is the case when a writer is unhappy, the weather is described as ‘foul'. However, he was rarely bored in Britain, and was content to stay for fifteen years and toconcede: "I detest England, but this does not stop me from declaring that as a thinking nation, she is probably the foremost.

THE MAIAS, Eça's obra-prima was written over a period of eight years and was published in 1888. The novel traces the decline of an aristocratic family and the incestuous love affair between a brother and sister, who are unaware of their blood relationship. In THE MAIAS, Eçacreates a powerful sense of human decay which is cultural, political and moral. He sets his fascinating epic novel against thebackdrop of a fast changing 19th century Portuguese society. Eçais forceful in his satire and piercing in his social criticism but he is boundless in his enjoyment of the idiosyncrasies of daily life;rich in characterisation;and generous in providing hilarious social comedy.

THE MAIASis creatively spearheaded by a very experienced and acclaimed director -BRUCE JAMIESONand is adaptedand produced by ALICE DE SOUSA. The Director - BRUCE JAMIESONis a co-founding member of the Greenwich Playhouse, Galleon Theatre Companyand Galleon Films. He has directed nearly thirty previous Galleonproductions and played leading roles in some sixty stage plays. As an actor, his television and film credits include: The Oxford Murders (Tornasol);
Murphy's Law (Tiger Aspect); Monarch of the Glen (Ecosse); Ali G-Inda House (Universal); Roughnecks (BBC); In Suspicious Circumstances(Granada); Crime Solver
(BBC); andSpongebob (BBC).

Galleon Theatre Company 
DATES:8th March -3rd April 2011 
Tues-Sat @ 7.30pm -Sun @ 4pm

PRESS NIGHT: 
Thursday, 10thMarch 2011 @ 7.30pm 
Tickets:£12, £10 (concs.) 
Box Office:020 8858 9256 

boxoffice@galleontheatre.co.uk 

VENUE:GREENWICH PLAYHOUSE 
Greenwich Station Forecourt, 
189 Greenwich High Road 
LONDON SE10 8JA

For further information contact the Galleon Theatre Company on 020 8310 7276; the producer on 07957 548010 or alice@galleontheatre.co.uk  Please consult our website:www.galleontheatre.co.uk

 

 

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