United artists left homeless at the end of July

This is because, after 13 years of work at the Polytechnic Theater, the contract for the transfer of this equipment from the Rectorate of the University of Lisbon (UL) expires on July 31st.

In an interview with Correio da Manhã, João Meireles, who shares leadership of the theater company with Pedro Carraca and António Simão, admits that he is in “great distress.” “We’re just over a month away from leaving, and we have no place to present our programs, no place to store our things, or send people back to work after summer break,” he says.

The situation began in March 2022, when UL Dean Luis Ferreira told AU that the contract would not be renewed and that the company would have until February 2023 to find a new home. Thanks to the intervention of the Lisbon City Council (CML), an amendment was made to the existing contract, which extended the company’s tenure until July 31, 2024. From now on, João Meireles guarantees, the group’s contacts with the autarky “will never cease.”

“We have been in constant contact with the council – ever since they committed to finding a post-polytechnic solution. Then we thought that two years would be enough to find an alternative, but so far no solution has appeared,” he emphasizes. “If we did not believe that the municipality had the resources and will to solve the problem, then in 2022 we would have started trying to find a different solution and may not have gotten to this desperate situation.”

ABOUT CM contacted CML, which responded in a statement that it remains “committed to resolving this process and finding a solution agreed with the AU.” One option could be the A Capital building (where the company was located from 1999 to 2002), but “the design for that site is still underway,” and the municipality admits it has “not yet been able” to find another viable location. .