About the Journal

PRESENTATION and HISTORY

Sinais de Cena (Performing Arts and Theatre Studies Journal) publishes new research on the Performing Arts and Theatre Studies.

It's an annual journal, specialised in theatre and performing arts studies, produced by the Centre for Theatre Studies (CET) of the School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon (FLUL), in collaboration with the Portuguese Association of Theatre Critics (APCT).

Sinais de Cena was founded in 2004 by Carlos Porto, Luiz Francisco Rebello, Paulo Eduardo Carvalho and Maria Helena Serôdio, who edited it until 2014, with an issue coming out each semester (in June and December) during these first ten years. It was initially published by Campo das Letras (up until issue 10 in December 2008). Húmus then took over publication for issues 11 (June 2009) to 22 (December 2014), always with Maria Helena Serôdio as its Editor. Series II begun in June 2016 and was published by Orfeu Negro, with Rui PIna Coelho as its Editor. From 2022 onwards the journal is published only in the digital form and operating on the OJS (Open Journal Systems) platform, edited by Marta Brites Rosa.

Announcements

World Theatre Day 2026

2026-03-27

In 1961, the ITI (International Theatre Institute) launched World Theatre Day, and since 1962 it has issued an annual message highlighting the power of theatre as a tool for social transformation and critical reflection.

The 2026 message was written by Willem Dafoe, an North American actor, and reflects on the importance of the sense of community and critical judgement fostered by theatre, in a world where our relationships with devices and machines are becoming increasingly overwhelming.

Read more.

Read more about World Theatre Day 2026

Current Issue

3rd series, nº 4 (2025)
View 3rd series, nº 4 (2025)

Issue 4 of the 3rd series of Sinais de Cena - Revista de Estudos de Teatro e Artes Performativas contains a Thematic Dossier dedicated to ‘Performance, Ecology and the End of the World’, coordinated by Gustavo Vicente. It also includes articles on various theatre studies, an interview with Lígia Soares, a theatre image section dedicated to the work of Estelle Valente, reviews of performances and book reviews of works from Luiz Francisco Rebello.

Contributors to this issue: Bruno Schiappa, Bya Braga, Catarina Firmo, Christine Zurbach, Emília Costa, Eugénia Vasques, Eunice Tudela de Azevedo, Filipe Figueiredo, Francesca Rayner, Francisca Meleiro, Graça P. Corrêa,  Guilherme Filipe, Gustavo Vicente, Katia Brito, Lígia Soares, Maíra Santos, Maria João Brilhante, Marta Brites Rosa, Mark Ingram, Mafalda Lencastre, Ohanna Pereira, Paula Gomes Magalhães, Rebecca Free, Rui Pina Coelho, Simone Niehoff, Soledad Figueroa Rodríguez and Yannick Fortes Pimenta.

Published: 2025-06-22

Full Issue

Editorial

Thematic dossier

Essays (Applied studies)

Portfolio

Interview

Performance reviews

Book reviews

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SINAIS DE CENA occupies a prominent position among publications specializing in theatre and performing arts in Portugal. Founded in 2004, it inaugurated, in 2016, a second series, under the seal of Orfeu Negro editions, acquiring annual periodicity. In 2022, the III series began and started to only support the digital format on the RCAAP platform.