Dramaturge, stage director and scenographer, João Brites was born in Torres Novas in 1947. Political exile in Brussels, he finished his engraving course there, and attended Monumental Painting and Scenography courses at ENSAAV, La Cambre.
João Brites has hosted solo exhibitions and participated in collective shows. In 1974, he founded the theatre Company O Bando. At Lisbon’s Expo ’98 he oversaw operations at the Performances Unit and, in 1999, he received the honorific title of the Order of Merit. In 2001, he was the commissary for the Official Portuguese Representation at the 12th Prague Quadrennial.
Throughout 41 years working with O Bando, he has written dozens of adaptations for the stage of non-dramatic texts by Portuguese authors, going on to direct them; he conceives scenic spaces in unpredictable territories; he idealises and constructs scene machines; he conceives and coordinates large-scale events for thousands of spectators.
For over 20 years, he taught actors at the Lisbon Theatre and Film School and is currently coordinating internships and training courses in theatre, as well as running workshops on the subject of the actor’s conscience on the stage.