Paulo Eduardo Carvalho:
I have to start with a confession, which is intended to work like one of those very old-fashioned prologues trough which a given character appealed to the indulgence of his audience. Only some days ago, when I finally set myself to writing this presentation, I read the summary I had sent in due time to the organization of this truly "extraordinary congress" - my sincere compliments to our Korean friends - and I realised how ambitious was my initial plan: according to that abstract, now printed in the programme, I had proposed myself not only to address some of the - at least for me - key issues raised by the stimulating subject of our meeting, "New Theatricality and Criticism", but also to do it trying to tell you something relevant about the Portuguese theatrical scene. I know now that I won' t be able to do all that, or at least not as deeply and thoughtfully as I had previously intended and I have to apologise for a title that promised more than I can offer you. And that' s where my plea for your indulgence comes in. And I' ll start, like suggested in the mentioned abstract, with a reference to a personal, albeit also collective, Portuguese "critical" experience.