Companhia Maior is composed of artists who, for the most part, are over sixty years old and have backgrounds in diverse sectors of artistic and cultural activity. Created in 2010, at the initiative of Luísa Taveira, with the mission of promoting creativity in the elderly, Companhia has worked with several generations of creators in the interdisciplinary context of contemporary creation. Companhia Maior is active on a regular basis and is involved with training in various subjects and formats linked to the creations it produces.

The company’s first show, Sleeping Beauty, with script and stage direction by Tiago Rodrigues, opened at the CCB in 2010 with a cast of 14 performers selected through audition. This was followed in 2011 by Maior (Greater), choreographed by Clara Andermatt, this time with 17 artists in the cast, and in 2012 by Iluminações (Illuminations), brought to the stage by Mónica Calle.

In 2013, Companhia Maior took part in a production of The Visit, directed by Nuno Cardoso, which opened in São Luiz Teatro Municipal. The play was a co-production by this theatre, Ao Cabo Teatro, Companhia Maior and the Centro Cultural Vila Flor, and was also performed in the Centro Cultural Vila Flor, in Guimarães, and Teatro Nacional de São João, in Porto. In October of the same year, the company took part in the Maratona 10 anos 10 horas (10-year 10-hour Marathon), at Maria Matos Teatro Municipal, in Lisbon, an event marking the 10th anniversary of the theatre companies Mala Voadora and Mundo Perfeito and the 44th anniversary of the theatre. Shortly afterwards, still in 2013, it presented a new co-production with the CCB, Estalo Novo (New Snap), a creation by Ana Borralho and João Galante.

With an enlarged cast of 27 performers, the company premièred two new shows almost simultaneously in Lisbon in October 2014. The first of these was The best fastest worst saddest longest most complex hardest funniest, written by Tim Etchells and directed by Jorge Andrade, presented at the CCB, and the second was Um de nós (One of us), directed by Peter Vandenbempt and performed in Maria Matos Teatro Municipal.

At the end of that year, Companhia Maior made its international début with the presentation of Estalo Novo (New Snap) at the MA scène national, in Montbéliard, France.

This was followed, in 2015, by Força (Strength), with artistic direction by Filipa Francisco, then in 2016 by A Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed by Tónan Quito, in 2017 by Humor Maligno (Malign Humour), staged by Pedro Penim, and in 2018 by Mapa Mundi, directed by Joana Craveiro, all in co-production with the CCB. In parallel, in 2018, Companhia Maior presented Dizer… as palavras dos poetas (Speaking… the words of poets), directed by Miguel Azguime, in the Espaço O’culto and at Passos Manuel Secondary School, as part of European Literature Night, and, in 2019, presented Cordéis Minimalistas (Minimalist Strings), directed by João Mota, in Comuna Teatro de Pesquisa and Fórum Cultural José Manuel Figueiredo, in Moita.

Companhia Maior has presented its productions in cultural spaces and venues throughout Portugal, including Teatro Municipal de Bragança, Cine-Teatro de Estarreja, TEMPO – Teatro Municipal de Portimão, Centro Cultural Vila Flor (Guimarães), Teatro Viriato (Viseu), TeCa – Teatro Carlos Alberto (Porto), Teatro Micaelense (Ponta Delgada), Teatro Virgínia (Torres Novas), Teatro Municipal da Guarda, Casa da Cultura de Alfândega da Fé, Centro de Espetáculos (Tróia), Teatro Municipal Joaquim Benite (Almada), Teatro Gil Vicente (Coimbra), Teatro-Cine de Torres Vedras, Teatro Aveirense, FIL – Feira Internacional de Lisboa, Espaço O’culto da Ajuda, Passos Manuel Secondary School, Comuna Teatro de Pesquisa and Fórum Cultural José Manuel Figueiredo.

Companhia Maior is registered as a Cultural Association and its members contribute actively to the continued discussion of issues related to its mission, operation, and social and artistic impact.