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Never Nothing From No One
(1990) Luisa Costa Gomes : English version adapted by Eduardo Barreto
The play is in six scenes set in and around Lisbon. Five women reveal the comforts and irritations of their loves, sometimes in monologue but mostly through wisps of gossip exchanged over tables, park benches or new-born babies. The three men of the cast variously play a variety of husbands, lovers, pimps or nuisances.
Interlinking the scenes is the put-upon-nurse Anita, a kind of latter-day female Job surrounded by potential, even well-meaning, tormentors. One day she might be caring for a young mother as family and friends gossip cattily over the ethics of breast enlargement or hiring a woman to do the man's share of the housework. Elsewhere she passes through a restaurant where a nouveau riche brute and snobbish wife-cheating businessman are abusing their wives - and each other - in their own particular way. Meanwhile the macho waiter is just plain rude to everyone.