'Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists' review — this Portuguese import is urgent and provocative

Read our review of Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists, now in performances at the National Theatre to 26 September.

Summary

• Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists comes to the National Theatre
• Tiago Rodrigues’s provocative play features a family's annual killing ritual
• This examination of tolerance and violence feels pertinent to our world

It is the play that has prompted walkouts, outbursts of rage, stage storming, and, in February 2026 at Schauspielhaus theatre in Bochum, one cast member had fruit hurled at them from the audience before two spectators attempted to drag the actor off. So, does this controversial Portuguese import, set in a dystopian 2028 when the fascists have taken over, provoke the same reaction at London’s National Theatre? Well, there are some audible sighs of frustration by the play’s final act, some whistling and bewildered laughter. But, largely, this is a very British affair.

The power of director Tiago Rodrigues’s wordy play does not live or die on a crowd’s reaction, though. Here, it takes all of the moment’s big political issues and spills them out onto the stage. The central conceit is philosopher Karl Popper’s paradox of tolerance: if we hope for a tolerant society, must we be tolerant of people who subscribe to intolerance?

That question is debated, again and again, on a remote farm in the Portuguese countryside, where a family has gathered to take part in an annual killing ritual dating back to the murder of Catarina Eufémia in 1954. This year, as ever, they are preparing to shoot a fascist in the head three times, just as Grandma’s pact dictates, and then enjoy a home-cooked meal afterwards. But the 26-year-old selected to pull the trigger this year (Beatriz Maia) is starting to have doubts.

It is a pretty strange, horror-influenced play, in which every single character is referred to as Catriona and the family wear long, cultish skirts and shirts designed by José António Tenente. But, for all its oddness, it certainly gives you plenty to chew on. Performed entirely in Portuguese, we follow the dialogue via surtitles above the stage. And there is lots of intelligent material here: lines probing the ethics and morality of violence, about what can be defined as retribution and revenge, that feel pertinent to the world outside the theatre. Essentially, you are watching discourse in motion. Then there are some Brecht quotes, fire imagery, and lots of swallows thrown in for good measure.

On the whole, it is a play that really makes you think. The perspectives of pacifists and proponents of violent resistance are treated with equal insight and clarity. And the matter of simply accepting your family’s lifestyle and choices is poked at and challenged. The final speech – the first time we hear from the fascist – goes on for more than 15 minutes and is a recoiling belter that questions whether domestic violence is really an issue, is homophobic and racist, advocates for traditional family values, and denies that there should be any type of state intervention. Written in 2020, as we get closer to the year the play is set in, it feels even more bone-chilling and painful to listen to.

All of that said, the play is a bit of a slog: at two hours and 30 minutes without an interval – with an uninterrupted hate speech to finish things – you’re pretty much gagging to get out by the end. In an age packed full of polarising opinions, perhaps that space is needed, but in the middle section the play’s spiky bite dissipates. Still, this remains urgent, provocative stuff – exactly the sort of thing the National should be programming.

Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists is at the National Theatre to 26 September.

Photo credit: Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists (Photos by Joseph Banderet, Carlos Fernandes)