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| Cía. Teatro del Silencio | |
|---|---|
| Name | Cía. Teatro del Silencio |
| Founded | 1990s |
| Location | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Genre | Contemporary theatre, physical theatre, experimental performance |
Cía. Teatro del Silencio
Cía. Teatro del Silencio is an Argentine theatre company based in Buenos Aires known for blending physical theatre, mime, and contemporary dance with dramatic narrative. The ensemble has engaged in collaborations and exchanges with institutions across Latin America and Europe, mounting productions that reference traditions from Commedia dell'arte to Butoh while participating in festivals alongside companies such as Ballet Nacional del SODRE, Compañía Nacional de Danza, Teatro Cervantes (Argentina), Festival Internacional de Buenos Aires, and Festival Internacional de Teatro Santiago a Mil. The company’s aesthetic dialogues with practitioners and institutions like Jacques Lecoq, Mikhail Chekhov, Pina Bausch, Jerzy Grotowski, and Eugenio Barba.
Founded in the 1990s amid the post-dictatorship cultural revival in Argentina, the troupe emerged in a milieu shared with groups such as Teatro San Martín, El Galpón (Montevideo), La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Theatre, and Grupo Krapp. Early residencies and workshops included exchanges with Centro Cultural Recoleta, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Mercat de les Flors, and Royal Court Theatre. The company consolidated its identity through tours to festivals like Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Avignon Festival, Festival Internacional Cervantino, and collaborations with collectives such as Residui Teatro and Teatro de los Andes. Political and economic crises in Argentina influenced programming, provoking artistic responses comparable to those by Grupo Marea, Teatro Barco, and Tucumán Arde-era practitioners.
Artistic leadership has emphasized corporeal storytelling, staging work derived from methodologies of Jacques Lecoq, Suzuki Company of Toga, Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, and Viewpoints practice. Repertoire ranges from adaptations of texts by Anton Chekhov, Federico García Lorca, Samuel Beckett, August Strindberg, and Luigi Pirandello to original pieces informed by Argentine poets such as Jorge Luis Borges and Alejandra Pizarnik. The company integrates scenography referencing designers like Sergio De Giusti and lighting approaches informed by Jules Fisher and Jennifer Tipton. Musical collaborations have included composers and ensembles associated with Astor Piazzolla, Ástor Piazzolla Quintet, Tango Buenos Aires Ensemble, and contemporary musicians linked to Buenos Aires Philharmonic.
Among notable productions are interdisciplinary works that toured internationally and entered repertoires alongside offerings from La Fura dels Baus, Compagnia dell'Elfo, Staatsballett Berlin, and Cirque du Soleil. The company’s adaptations have evoked associations with productions of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, reinterpretations of Yerma by Federico García Lorca, and physical-theatre renditions comparable to The Rite of Spring stagings by Pina Bausch and Maurice Béjart. Site-specific projects were mounted in venues such as Teatro Colón, Galería Ruth Benzacar, Palacio Barolo, and outdoor spaces used by Festival Internacional de Teatro Callejero. Co-productions and guest directors have included figures with ties to Teatro alla Scala, Royal Shakespeare Company, Comédie-Française, and Teatro Real.
Core ensemble members have trained at institutions like Escuela de Arte Dramático de Buenos Aires, Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica Silvio D'Amico, and École Jacques Lecoq. Guest choreographers and directors have included alumni of SUNY Purchase, London Contemporary Dance School, National Institute of Dramatic Art, and Helsinki Theatre Academy. The company has worked with set and costume designers linked to Woolf & Shaw, lighting designers associated with National Theatre (UK), and dramaturgs with backgrounds at Centro Dramático Nacional and Teatro Nacional Cervantes. Collaborations have featured artists who also perform with Teatro Colón Ballet, Buenos Aires Philharmonic, Orquesta Filarmónica de Montevideo, and independent collectives such as Grupo Cultural Matienzo.
Touring has taken the ensemble to venues and festivals including Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Avignon Festival, Festival Internacional Cervantino, Santiago a Mil, Festival Internacional de Teatro de Bogotá, Festival Iberoamericano de Teatro de Bogotá, Mercado de las Artes Escénicas del Sur (MAES), and institutions such as La Mama Experimental Theatre Club, Teatro Real, Teatro Principal (Zaragoza), and Centro Cultural Recoleta. Exchanges and residencies involved programs by British Council, Instituto Cervantes, Alliance Française, and Goethe-Institut, enabling workshops with companies like Complicité, Teatr Powszechny, and Teatro dei Sensibili.
The company and its productions have received distinctions at events akin to Premio ACE, Premio Teatro del Mundo, Florencio Sánchez Awards, and festival honors comparable to Premio Teatro del Mundo (Festival Internacional de Teatro) recognitions. Individual members have been fellows at institutions such as Cervantes Institute Fellowships, Fulbright Program, British Council Dance Partnerships, and Fondazione Teatro alla Scala residencies, and have been shortlisted for awards linked to UNESCO cultural programs and Mercosur Cultural initiatives.
Education initiatives include workshops and training courses for students from Universidad Nacional de las Artes, Conservatorio Nacional de Música (Argentina), and community projects in partnership with Casa de la Cultura de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Fundación Orígenes, and municipal cultural programs in Buenos Aires. Outreach has encompassed residencies in collaboration with Centro Cultural Kirchner, school programs aligned with curricula at Instituto Superior de Teatro, and cooperative projects with NGOs engaged in cultural access funded by agencies such as UNICEF and UNESCO.
Category:Theatre companies of Argentina