REVIEW: 1999, part of Women Writers Festival at Etcetera Theatre 25 – 30 March 2026

“Just because you’re the loudest in the room doesn’t mean you are suffering the most” ★★★★

This female three-hander explores “a world that’s run by men but the repercussions are dealt by the women”. 1999 transports the audience back to Portuguese beginnings and guides the audience through “a true story, a sad, family story”. It shows a Portuguese family dealing with different life problems and dives into the different family dynamics and gives the audience a peak into how each character works and their thought process.

A beautiful story, it delivers all the information necessary straight from the beginning, so that the audience already feels part of the family. It almost feels like intruding in their conversations because of how personal it is. The use of the traditional Portuguese Folk music, Fado, a very soul and heartbreaking music, also introduces the audience to new sounds and establishes that this play has authentic Portuguese roots.

I was captivated straight from the beginning, already feeling the emotions take control of me as I witnessed how the family interacted. Family dynamics were very well explored in this play, and I could sense how this gripped the audience, never knowing how the mother would act, one time she’s content and in the blink of an eye she can snap. Inês Santos Belmonte performed her character so well, that merely seeing the mother caused the room to stiffen and wonder what bad feelings the mother was going to bring.

The acting from the brilliant actresses, Ana João, Inês Santos Belmonte and Cristina Parracho showed well-expressed emotions; the way they connected with the audience was absolutely beautiful, we could feel their happiness, sadness and the desperation that each character was dealing with.

Although, the set was fairly simple, it carried its message across very well, really making  feel us feel that we were in a Portuguese household. The minimal set was less focused on the objects and made me really pay attention to the characters and the way they acted around each other and how normal it truly felt.

Personally, I enjoyed the use of both Portuguese and English. It brought both cultures together and if you understand the language it made you feel closer to the play, it’s almost as if you were getting an inside peak as to what the other audience members could’ve missed.

Overall, this play is a solid 4 stars, my only downside is its run time. I would’ve loved for it to be longer as I was on the edge of my seat for more. I think getting some closure on how the family was left would have really improved it, but this was still very enjoyable and beyond beautiful and heartfelt.

Photos by: Erika Skyte (insta: @itstakenbyerika).

Written by: Ana João (@ana____joao) 

Directed by: Fiona Munro (@fio_munro)

Produced by: Purnima Rai (@ratgurl_theatre)

Cast: 

Rafaela: Ana João (@ana____joao) 

Maria: Inês Santos Belmonte (@inessantosbelmonte

Carlota: Cristina Parracho (@cristinaparracho)