People of Portuguese descent or tourists who visit Portugal may know about its folk tale regarding The Rooster of Barcelos. Gaily painted figurines of said mythical rooster are popular souvenir items. Treating this legend ironically in order to condemn Antonio Salazar, the long-dead dictator who ran Portugal from 1932 through 1968, Old Cock is an interesting if uneven and not entirely satisfying drama by Robert Schenkkan.
Opening on Friday in a 50-seat space at 59E59 Theaters, Old Cock is an event in the Under the Radar festival that (not surprisingly) originated in Portugal in 2024 from a company known as Mala Voadora. The company was co-founded by Jorge Andrade, who directed and performs here as the solo actor of Old Cock, along with José Capela, who is this production’s set and costume designer.
Amid swirling smoke and the majestic opening bars of Also Sprach Zarathustra, the Rooster of Barcelos materializes to tell viewers his side of the improbable story: How a roasted fowl arises from a dinner table to rescue a wrongly-condemned stranger from the gallows. This miracle has long been construed in positive terms of faith, justice and incredible good luck.
Gloriously decked out in colorful fine feathers and red coxcomb, Jorge Andrade’s tetchy personification of the Rooster struts around on yellow talons providing a casually sardonic account of such miraculous doings. Suddenly, halfway through the 60-minute show, just when the Rooster amusingly speculates existentially about his Lazarus-like times following the miracle — Was he eaten for dinner? Did he get royalties on the souvenirs? – the play and its presentation both change.
Behind the Rooster, a screen lights up in black and white to reveal Antonio Salazar (Andrade again, seen on video, neatly dressed in suit and tie as the aged dictator), apparently speaking from an anteroom of Hell. The remainder of the drama sees the Rooster confronting Salazar about the repressive way he ruled Portugal for nearly forty years. In spite of the Rooster’s evident outrage, Salazar proves rather a pragmatic fellow who shrugs off his practices. Salazar even notes how the Barcelos fable was really Spanish in origin and manipulated for political purposes. “Who cares about facts?” declares Salazar. “They just get in the way of the really important things, like your message.”
Old Cock is an interesting work with an unusual story and even a timely theme, but does not prove entirely satisfying, because it leaves big blanks in history for viewers unaware of Salazar or Portugal. The drama, which simply stops rather than concludes, is uneven in its abrupt switch from monologue to a mixed media dialogue. Moreover, the satirical point in mocking an autocratic leader dead for over half a century really needs to be sharpened to effectively warn about new regimes here and abroad rewriting culture for populist consumption.
Speaking of abroad, how Robert Schenkkan, an American playwright and the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Kentucky Cycle (among other works such as the Tony Award-winning LBJ bio-drama All the Way), became associated with Mala Voadora and Old Cock, which premiered in a Portuguese language staging in May, 2024 in Portugal is not explained in the program’s scanty notes. Let’s not speculate except to mention how the play’s patchy quality suggests that Andrade was more involved in its making than simply being its director and solo performer.
As an actor, Andrade seems more comfortable wearing the Rooster’s fabulous be-feathered costume than in agreeably depicting his character, who registers as a disgruntled, nearly bitter, soul. Frequently grimacing as he delivers the Rooster’s peppery, usually facetious narrative, it’s ironic how Andrade comparatively appears so authoritative and cool as Salazar. The video sequence designed by Um Segundo Filmes has been sharply cued by technical director João Fonte to match the Rooster’s interrogations seamlessly with Salazar’s remarks.
Monty Python-esque flourishes to the staging seem unnecessary and even misleading about the serious intents of Old Cock, which in certain respects remains a worthy work still in need of greater development and a better title.
