The 2021 Alkantara Festival, along with its partner venues, has been expanding the accessibility of its shows to provide access to a more diverse audience.

This year, most of our performances are surtitled in Portuguese and English. In some cases, the Portuguese captions include text which describes the performance. This service may be useful for people who are D/deaf, deafened or hard of hearing. We also offer performances that are Portuguese Sign Language interpreted and audio described (in Portuguese).

Audio description

Audio description is a resource that may be useful for people who are blind or partially sighted. An audio description professional supplies additional commentary during the show via earpieces, describing aspects such as body language, facial expressions, costumes, set design and action sequences. In 2022, our programme includes two pieces with audio description: “O Making of do Pinóquio”, at Teatro Nacional D. Maria II, and “The Divine Cypher”, at Teatro do Bairro Alto.

Portuguese Sign Language

An official language in Portugal since 1997, Portuguese Sign Language (LGP) is a visual language that d/Deaf people use to communicate. Consisting of hand gestures and movements along with facial expressions, each gestural picture corresponds to a meaning. In 2022, LGP translation will be provided for the show BOCA FALA TROPA and its associated artist talk, at São Luiz Teatro Municipal.

Subtitles for d/Deaf people

Besides providing subtitles in Portuguese for international shows and performances, we will offer subtitles for d/Deaf people – consisting of written descriptions of the sound content of the piece – for the show O Making of do Pinóquio, at Teatro Nacional D. Maria II.

Comfort Room

The quiet room is a space where Alkantara Festival 2022 attendees can take some time to be silent or to discuss sensitive topics that arise during the show. In this edition we will provide a quiet room on 12 and 13 November, during the show “Making of do Pinóquio”, at Teatro Nacional D. Maria II.

Sessão descontraída

In a relaxed session, the auditorium environment conveys a more tolerant atmosphere regarding movement, reactions and noise from the audience. This is intended for people with sensory, social or communication disabilities, people with attention deficit or hyperactivity, people on the autistic spectrum, people with learning disabilities, seniors or any person who may benefit from a more relaxed atmosphere. There will be two relaxed sessions of the show “O Making of do Pinóquio”, at Teatro Nacional D. Maria II.

Alkantara Safe Space

If you experience any discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, disability, gender identity, literacy, or any other situation involving racism, xenophobia or transphobia while attending Alkantara Festival 2022, please contact us at safe@alkantara.pt.

We aim to provide a safe space for our audiences, so that each person can experience the performing arts in the best and most meaningful way possible.

Accessible tickets

If you are part of an association, collective or social movement, or simply want to attend a show and do not have the financial means to purchase a ticket, please contact us HERE or at acesso@alkantara.pt.