From rock star to quadriplegia: you can also love life in a wheelchair

Rodrigo sells records like hotcakes, is adored by the public and does not reject the increased commitment of each new fan who wants to show her devotion to him. He is a star and lives life as such, with all the madness and excesses that come with being in the spotlight. He is not a fool and his success is not due to luck — he worked hard to make his childhood dream come true, he composed and wrote, spent sleepless nights rehearsing each chord until it was perfect and would be willing to go hungry and even live on the streets to fulfill what he knew was his purpose. Life rewarded him with "beautiful songs" and a loyal audience that appreciated them. Until one day — there is always one day... but for him, fate was cruel.

An accident on stage left him almost completely paralyzed, "like a dry leaf," his mother recalls. And how do you go back to living like that? Why would you want to live like that? What for?

The premise of Do Outro Lado do Muro , on stage at the Estoril Casino Auditorium from Thursday to Sunday until the end of this month , with text and direction by Tiago Torres da Silva, may seem distressing. The play, performed by Ricardo Carriço, Rita Ribeiro and Baltasar Marçal, could be a raw tragedy that upsets and depresses. But it is precisely the opposite: it is cheerful, light-hearted even when what we see is difficult to digest and hear, positive even in the way it invades our consciousness in seemingly harmless gestures that can determine the impossibility for those who do not have total independence, such as preventing access to a ramp. And that is why it conveys so well the messages that few are willing to absorb — because we never want to think that misfortune could knock on our door.

Baltasar Marçal and Ricardo Carriço represent two moments in the life of the same Rodrigo, the young man in the spotlight living his dreams and the discouraged man, who feels useless in trying to recover, more than his life, his will to live, after an accident left him completely paralyzed, having been forced to relearn how to speak and who is as excited by the smallest achievements in a recovery that he knows will never truly be, as he is despairing over the impossible losses. Rita Ribeiro is an ordinary mother: strong and determined in helping her son, sometimes proud of what he achieves, sometimes angry with his fate and with those who make it more difficult, distressed by her son's despair and drowning in her own discouragement, condemned to a prison only relieved by occasional caregivers. And as the window opens onto a life that, after all, is not only darkness, but also has countless joys, the three of them show us how a battle that was lost from the start can be won.

With the support of the Salvador Association — created by Salvador Mendes de Almeida, who became quadriplegic at the age of 16 in a motorcycle accident and is now a presenter, sailor and father —, Do Outro Lado do Muro does not just tell a story. It portrays what it is like to live with a disability, the physical, psychological and emotional difficulties of those who find themselves dependent on others for the most basic tasks. But it also shows how this is not a death sentence in life; rather, it can be the door to a new life, different, of course, but equally full of possibilities for achievement, new people and interests.

It also shows that problems go beyond those who experience them, infecting family and friends — how the desire to overcome limits also affects those around you. And above all, it reveals to those who do not deal directly with someone who is in some way limited that basic civility can make a big difference to those who have problems (it is unlikely that anyone who has seen the play will ever park on a sidewalk again...).

More than a good play with beautiful performances — Ricardo Carriço's performance is remarkable — and which incredibly leaves us with a full heart, Do Outro Lado do Muro is, truly, a public service.