Photography by Joseph Banderet

The National Theatre, on London’s Southbank, programmes quite an array of shows for a diverse crowd, and we’re fans of their big hitters – this year we’ve already caught the return of their hugely successful adaptation of War Horse, as well as new play Electra/Persona starring Cate Blanchett. From time to time, in amongst the hit shows and big names, we see something of a curiosity pop up and this week we checked out one such play: Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists is a 2020 Portuguese play by Tiago Rodrigues, which caused quite a storm when it played across Europe. As you may imagine from the title, it is a provocative and politically-charged production.

We’ll start by saying this is not theatre at its most accessible – it is performed entirely in Portuguese (there are English surtitles) and it is probably the longest play we’ve seen that doesn’t have an interval, clocking in at just over two and a half hours. We understand that decision artistically – given the intensity of the play, it makes sense not to lose momentum – but at times it feels like a bit of an endurance test.