The Shortlist. October in Lisbon
Lisbon arrives at October in full voice. The programmes are open, the light turns gold by early evening, and the city offers more than any one diary can hold. These are the five we have chosen.
Culture. Under the Shade of a Tree I Sat and Wept
Jeton Neziraj writes and Blerta Neziraj directs this production from Kosovo, made with a South African dramaturg. Its subject is reconciliation, and its title is honest about what that asks of people. With three nights only, this is the one to book first.
Teatro São Luiz · 23 to 25 October
Art. In Awe, Neha Vedpathak
Vedpathak works Japanese handmade paper with a single pushpin, plucking it apart fibre by fibre. Each piece takes months, and the patience is visible across every surface. Give it time, because it rewards the eye that lingers.
Encounter · until 14 November
Event. Dias da Literatura de Lisboa
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation hosts the first edition of an international congress on what literature does when politics grows unstable. Thirty-two voices take part, Elif Shafak, Andrei Kurkov and Alberto Manguel among them, convened by the founder of the Berlin literature festival. First editions tend to become reference points, and this one has every sign of it.
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation · 28 to 30 October
Design. Coleção Tereza Seabra and Coexistências
MUDE presents two shows side by side, with five hundred and two pieces of contemporary jewellery between them. A rubber bracelet conceals gold, and a necklace is made from onion skin. Each piece makes its own case for what adornment can say.
MUDE · 25 September to 31 January
Gastronomy. Touta
Cynthia Bitar and Rita Abou Ghazale cook Lebanese food through French technique and Portuguese produce: pine nuts from Alcácer do Sal, black pork from the Alentejo. A Sol in the Repsol guide arrived this year, and the cooking carries it with ease.
Touta · Campo de Ourique
Lisbon, in full season.