THE THEATRE

Miguel Franco was a Leiria-born Portuguese actor, director and playwright.

So it was right here that he built up the theatre by founding the  Miguel Leitão theatre group, which made a name for itself in Portuguese amateur theatre circles from the 50s onwards.

This group was also innovative in that Miguel Franco removed the performances from their traditional stage, holding them outdoors in iconic, cultural locations such as Leiria Castle, Alcobaça Monastery, and the Convent of Christ, in Tomar.

Miguel Franco is considered to have been the most notable playwright of the 70s, in terms of historical dramaturgy.

His works include The Riot, The Legend of the Citizen Miguel Lino, The Captain of Ships, Very Brief Visit, with several others left unfinished, the most notable of which is Leonor Fonseca Pimentel.

Having transitioned into film as an actor in the 60s, he was in about ten films: The Crime of Aldeia Velha (1963), O Trigo e o Joio (1964) and Lotação Exgotada (1972) by Manuel de Guimarães, Sunday Afternoon (1966) by António de Macedo, The Circle (1970) and Vidas (1984) by António da Cunha Telles, A Fuga (1976) by Luís Filipe Rocha, O Rei das Berlengas (1978) by Artur Semedo, and Morning Undersea (1980) by Lauro António.

As well as the theatre group, he founded a conference room called Sexta-feira à Noite (Friday Night) at Leiria’s sports Athenaeum, which he was also the director of and that went on to host Bernardo Santareno, Rogério Paulo and Luiz Francisco Rebello, among others.

The theatre named after this remarkable local was built in the premises next to the Sant’ana market in 2003, having since hosted an incredible variety of performances.

LOCATION
> Rua Dr. Correia Mateus – Mercado Sant’Ana, 2400-127 Leiria
> GPS: 39º44’33.53″N | 8º48’27.98″W
> How to get there: https://bit.ly/2IWhJbx

OPENING TIMES
> Every day: 6:00pm – 11:00pm

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
> Site: Teatro José Lúcio da Silva
> Phone no.: 244 839 680
> E-mail: teatromfranco@teatrojlsilva.pt
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