00:00Rui de Carvalho's life is on stage. That's how he sees it. That's how he wants it to continue.
00:06At 97 and a half years old, he is the oldest theatre actor in the world still working.
00:13Four days a week, he fulfills the ritual of arriving here at the Malaposta Theatre
00:18on the outskirts of Lisbon and donning the skin of Major Metcalfe in Agatha Christie's play The Mousetrap.
00:30I'm 97 years old and 6 months old.
00:33As you can see, I'm almost 98 years old and I'm still on stage.
00:37I don't think there are many people in the world doing what I'm doing.
00:40I do it with great pleasure and I really enjoy doing my job.
00:43I don't think I should give up as long as I have the possibility to continue working.
00:47I work because I feel I have memory, I'm able to remember things.
00:52I ask not to be too big, not to have too many difficulties and not to waste too many hours.
00:57I study at home. Improvisations only take me a long time to work.
01:02For the actors who work with him, it leaves a mark in their lives.
01:07For us, it's an honour and a constant learning experience because Rui is an example to follow.
01:13We all want to have Rui de Carvalho one day, not only because of his talent,
01:16but also because of his longevity, his ability to always be available,
01:20always learning despite his age, always attentive to everything.
01:24It's very curious to see that Rui continues to live the stage as if it were his first time.
01:29How is it to work with Rui de Carvalho? It's an immense pride.
01:32Every day we learn something new and it's wonderful to see him working with this energy,
01:38with this joy, stepping on the stage every day.
01:42It's wonderful to work with Rui.
01:45Rui de Carvalho was a theatre professional for 5 years when Agatha Christie's Ratueira debuted in London 72 years ago.
01:51With the energy we saw on stage tonight, the play will certainly be able to stay on stage here in Lisbon for a long time as well.
01:59With Bruno Silva's image, Ricardo Figueira, Euronews, Lisbon.
02:14you
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