New Guidelines in Times of Peace

New Guidelines in Times of Peace, by Bosco Brasil, gets a new production directed by Eric Lenate and co-directed by Vitor Julian, and will participate in the 1st Edition of the São Paulo Theatre Festival, at BTG Pactual Hall – Sala EMS in September 2026.

The show exposes the horrors of totalitarianism and celebrates the resistance of art against barbarity. The show had its national premiere at the 17th FITA - Angra International Theatre Festival.

A successful piece of Brazilian dramaturgy, the play "New Guidelines in Times of Peace ," by Bosco Brasil , has been given a new production directed by Eric Lenate in co-direction with Vitor Julian . On stage , Lenate shares the scene with Fernando Billi. The show, which also has production direction by Mauricio Inafre , premiered in São Paulo, had a season in Rio de Janeiro, and will now participate with four performances in the 1st Edition of the São Paulo Theatre Festival at BTG Pactual Hall – Room B.

First staged in 2002, under the direction of Ariela Goldmann, the play was a huge critical and public success, receiving the Shell and APCA awards that year. The text has also been translated into several languages and staged in Portugal, Italy, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Chile, and Mexico. Furthermore, it was adapted into the feature film "Em Tempos de Paz" (2009), directed by Daniel Filho and starring Tony Ramos and Dan Stulbach.

The play is a period fable, set during the Getúlio Vargas dictatorship (1937-1945), towards the end of World War II, and tells the story of Clausewitz, a Polish refugee who arrives in Brazil determined to forget the horrors he experienced in his homeland. When he presents himself to Customs in April 1945, carrying only the clothes on his back and the dream of starting a new life as a farmer, he is stopped by Segismundo, an immigration official and former torturer for Vargas's political police.

Clausewitz arrives with no belongings, bearing no typical marks of a farmer's life on his hands, and, strangely enough, speaking fluent Portuguese. Segismundo suspects the Polish immigrant is a disguised Nazi trying to enter the country and begins a harsh interrogation. The tension culminates in an ultimatum: Clausewitz has 10 minutes to complete an unusual task or he will return on the same freighter that brought him. An intense confrontation then begins between the two men who, united in their personal defeats, seek the thrill that may or may not redeem their humanity.

In the new staging, Fernando Billi takes on the role of the interrogator Segismundo and Lenate, that of the Polish immigrant Clausewitz. The show had its national premiere at the 17th FITA – Angra International Theatre Festival, in August 2025, where it won the FITA 2025 Award for Best Set Design ( Eric Lenate ) . The production also received nominations in the categories of best show, best direction, best actor ( Eric Lenate ), best soundtrack ( LP Daniel ) and best lighting ( Aline Sayuri and Eric Lenate ). The show was also nominated for the APCA 2025 Award for best actor ( Eric Lenate ).

Synopsis

In 1945, as World War II draws to a close, a Polish immigrant, Clausewitz (Eric Lenate), disembarks at the port of Rio de Janeiro, seeking a new life as a farmer. On the dock, he is confronted by Segismundo (Fernando Billi), a customs officer who suspects Clausewitz is a Nazi trying to enter Brazil. Without a safe-conduct pass signed by Segismundo, Clausewitz is forced to return to the cargo ship and continue his journey. To obtain this safe-conduct pass, Segismundo proposes an unusual challenge to the foreigner, leading the two men to confront their memories: on one side, an actor who has lost everything; on the other, a former torturer who always followed orders.

New Guidelines in Times of Peace

at the São Paulo Theatre Festival

from September 10th to 13th

Thursday and Friday, at 8:30 PM

Saturday, at 6 PM

Sunday, at 7:30 PM

Tickets from R$25 to R$120

via sympla.com.br