Are the tchiloli processions, imbued with chaos and trance, or the African spiritual ceremonies, the point of balance between denouncement and celebration? When considering art from a decolonial outlook, we contemplate memory and counter-memory, but finding the balance may turn out to be the ultimate challenge.

Zia Soares, actress, director and artistic director of Teatro Griot, and Raquel Lima artist and researcher discuss matters arising from O Riso dos Necrófagos. How do bodies express themselves within a cast as diverse as the one in this show? What role does Teatro Griot play in the dawn of a new theatre, one which is co-created but not hostage of a script? How may the company’s journey reshape the artists’ and ‘public’s perceptions so that they might embrace these tensions?