The ''Teatro ABC'' was the last of four theatres built in the Parque Mayer theatre district of the Portuguese capital of

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

. It opened in January 1956 and closed in 1995. Located on land adjacent to the ''

Teatro Maria Vitória The ''Teatro Maria Vitória'' is a theatre in Lisbon, capital of Portugal. It is located in the theatre district of Parque Mayer. Dedicated primarily to revues, which are known in Portugal as ''Teatro de Revista'', the ''Teatro Maria Vitória'' ...

'' that had previously been used for restaurants, a skating rink, and an open-air cinema, the ''Teatro ABC'' was built by the businessman José Miguel, who directed it from its opening in 1956 until 1971, the year of his death. It was the only heated theatre in the Parque Mayer area, which was considered to be the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

of Lisbon. ''Teatro ABC'' suffered a fire on 13 August 1990, with the show being presented at the time being transferred to the nearby ''

Teatro Capitólio The Teatro Capitólio, officially called Cineteatro Capitólio - Teatro Raul Solnado, is located in Parque Mayer, in Lisbon, Portugal. It was opened in 1931. Because of its early modernist design it has been recognized as the first building of ...

''. It was rebuilt and re-opened in 1993 but proved unviable and was closed definitively in 1997, being finally demolished in 2015. The theatre mainly offered what is known in Portugal as ''Teatro de Revista'' (

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

s), but also put on shows for children. In its lifetime it presented 47 different revues, with some lasting for several months. Performers to appear at the theatre included António Silva,

Hermínia Silva Herminia Silva Leite Guerreiro GCIH (23 October 1907 - 13 June 1993) was a Portuguese fado singer. Life Silva was born at Hospital de Sao Jose to Josefina Augusta. At the age of 10, she began singing while she worked as a seamstress. Her ca ...

Nicolau Breyner João Nicolau de Melo Breyner Moreira Lopes (30 July 1940 – 14 March 2016), known professionally as Nicolau Breyner, was a Portuguese actor, screenwriter, producer, director and television host. He was one of the most well-known figures in Por ...

José Raposo José Sá Raposo (born 3 February 1962) is a Portuguese actor and producer. Biography He began in the children's theater, by the hand of Francisco Nicholson in 1981 at the Teatro AdHoc, which company he integrated. He did ''Teatro de Revista ...

, and

Simone de Oliveira Simone de Macedo e Oliveira (born 11 February 1938), better known as Simone de Oliveira, is a Portuguese singer and actress. She represented Portugal at the and of the Eurovision Song Contest, with the songs "" and "" respectively. Early ...

. From 1972, beginning with the revue, ''O Fim da Macacada'' (The end of stupidity), it was able to make significant changes to the contents of the revues presented, firstly as a result of a more liberal approach to censorship under the new president,

Marcelo Caetano Marcello José das Neves Alves Caetano (17 August 1906 – 26 October 1980) was a Portuguese politician and scholar. He was the second and last leader of the Estado Novo after succeeding António de Oliveira Salazar. He served as prime mini ...

, and, more importantly, after the '' Estado Novo'' dictatorship was overthrown in April 1974. For the first time, excerpts from a show were broadcast on the radio. However, some of the uncensored performances brought the performers into conflict with the management of the theatre company and some of the actors moved to the ''

Teatro Ádóque ''Teatro Ádóque'' was a theatre and theatrical cooperative located in the Martim Moniz area of Lisbon, capital of Portugal. Origins The Ádóque Theatre Workers' Cooperative, was founded in 1974, and installed itself in the former ''Teatro Des ...

'' in Lisbon.

References

Theatres in Lisbon Theatres completed in 1956 Demolished buildings and structures in Portugal Buildings and structures demolished in 2015 {{theatre-struct-stub

See also

References