For decades, it was a meeting point with the world. Here, the chords of cellist Guilhermina Suggia were heard, as were concerts by the London Opera, the orchestras of Vienna, Madrid and Prague, and recitals by great names such as Arthur Rubinstein and Isaac Stern. It was also home to sound cinema and a stage for emotions shared across generations. But, like all great stages, Theatro Circo also had its moments of silence behind the scenes. Between the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, the building experienced moments of uncertainty — until, in 1999, one of the largest and most ambitious cultural restoration projects in the country began. Its reopening in 2006 gave the city back a renovated theatre, respecting the original design and equipped with cutting-edge acoustic and sound technology, ready to welcome contemporary creations without losing the soul of 1915.

Today, Theatro Circo is more than just a building — it is a living platform for creation, experimentation and celebration. In recent years, it has welcomed names such as Patti Smith, Caetano Veloso, Mayra Andrade, Rufus Wainwright, Rosalía and Brad Mehldau, among many other national and international artists who have chosen Braga as their destination to thrill audiences. Electronic music and digital art festivals such as Semibreve and the Art and Technology Biennial INDEX are other events that Theatro Circo embraces.

Here, the past inspires. The present vibrates. And the future takes the stage every day.

MISSION
Theatro Circo’s mission is to offer the public, with particular emphasis on the city of Braga and the Northern region, a multidisciplinary programme within the performing arts distinguished by its diversity, artistic quality, and critical engagement with contemporary challenges.

VISION
Theatro Circo is a century-old venue, a place of memories for a community.
Guardian of the passage of time – its own and that of the city – it is composed of different layers which today shape its history as a cornerstone of Braga’s cultural life.

Theatro Circo is a space rooted in the present, attentive to the territory that surrounds it and to the aspirations of its people. It grounds its work in four main pillars – music, performing arts, children and youth programming, and mediation, training and participation – expanding into a multidisciplinary programme that reflects the diversity and artistic excellence of the local, national and international landscape.

Theatro Circo is a space of the future, attentive to new creations that challenge conventions and established points of view, and a facilitator of collaborations between artists from diverse disciplines and artistic expressions.

In the tension between the three dimensions that inhabit it – past, present and future – Theatro Circo challenges itself to move towards a theatre that is more accessible, more plural and more free.