Edinburgh is abuzz with the news that the critically acclaimed Brazilian adaptation of Michel Marc Bouchard’s Tom at the Farm will make its highly anticipated UK premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025. Playing from July 30 to August 24 at the EICC, this production, which has captivated over 150,000 audience members across three continents, promises to be a festival highlight.
Having garnered international acclaim and a string of awards, including "Best Foreign Show" from the Quebec Theatre Critics Association and a "Coup de Cœur" at Festival Off Avignon 2022, Tom at the Farm arrives in Edinburgh following a decade of sell-out tours. Critics have lauded it as "violent beauty bordering on the sublime" (La Terrasse) and a "theatrical hit" (Le Monde), consistently earning standing ovations.
The play delves into the fraught journey of Tom, an urban advertising executive who travels to a remote farm after the death of his lover. There, he confronts a brutal reality: his lover’s mother is unaware of her son’s true identity, and his savage brother is determined to keep it that secret buried. What unfolds is a tense psychological thriller where patriarchy, desire, and the dangerous pursuit of truth collide.
Brazilian actor Armando Babaioff, deeply affected by the line "homosexuals learn to lie before they learn to love" from Bouchard’s original work, spearheaded this adaptation. In a country tragically marked by high rates of LGBTQ+ violence, Babaioff felt compelled to bring the story to a wider audience, stripping away regional specificities to create a universally resonant narrative. Renowned director Rodrigo Portella’s stripped-back, mud-laden stage design amplifies the raw emotion, creating a haunting and urgent production. Bouchard himself praised it as "one of the most beautiful and powerful productions of my play."
More than just a drama about homophobia, Tom at the Farm explores themes of systemic control and repression, with the farm serving as a potent symbol of intolerance. Amidst a global rise in populism and political instability, its themes resonate more powerfully than ever. Backed by Brazil’s Ministry of Culture, this production also stands as a significant cultural and political statement, marking a clear departure from the previous administration’s rhetoric and reaffirming Brazil's return to the global cultural stage.
