Two magic lantern and optical theatre shows by Émile Reynaud, reconstructed and operated by Abi Feijó, are taking place on March 28^th and 29^th at the National Museum of Natural History and Science, in Lisbon, as part of the Monstra – Lisboa Animation Festival and of project MAGICA: Magic Lantern – Study, Safeguard, Uses and Reuses in 19th-Century Portugal, in which IN2PAST’s Centre for the Study of the Sociology and Aesthetics of Music (CESEM) is involved. A third show is offered for families and in English on April 4^th at 6 pm.

The show on Friday, the 28^th, is intended for schools and starts at 10 am with a guided tour of the exhibition ‘MAGICA: Science and Spectacle in the 19th Century’, on show at the Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência (MUHNAC) until May 4^th. At 11 am, participants will then enjoy the 60-minute magic lantern and optical theatre show by Abi Feijó with lanternist/ narrator Elsa Cerqueira and musician Samuel Martins Coelho.

On Saturday afternoon, from 3 pm, a similar programme, also in Portuguese, is open to families and other interested visitors. Finally, on April 4^th, and as part of the MAGICA international conference, the guided tour in English starts at 5 pm and a 90-minute version of the show at 6 pm. Admission for all three activities is free but prior registration is mandatory, via email (geral@museus.ulisboa.pt) or phone (+351 213 921 808).

The partnership with MONSTRA was established given the strong relationship between the magic lantern and animation cinema. The optical theatre is an instrument that combines the Praxinoscope with magic lantern projectors invented by Émile Reynaud and used in his Pantomimes Lumineuses (Luminous Pantomimes) shows at the end of the 19^th century.

Abi Feijó, renowned animation film director and producer, is the author of the reconstruction of the optical theatre and the lanternist who guides us on a journey through his collection of slides and magic lanterns, which can be visited at the Casa-Museu de Vilar in Lousada (Portugal).