Biography

Rita do Vale Capela is a Portuguese actress, playwright, and theatre-maker based between Portugal and the United Kingdom.

She holds a five-year degree in Theatre Studies from the University of Évora, complemented by an Erasmus exchange in Milan and Brescia, where she furthered her studies in Theatre and Cinema. Upon returning to Portugal, she completed a three-year professional actor training course at Act for All in Lisbon one of Portugal's leading acting school, graduating with distinction.

In December 2014, she relocated to London, where she continued to develop her craft through the full-time APT Forge Initiative, led by the distinguished director and educator Brian Astbury. Throughout her career, she has had the privilege of working alongside notable figures in Portuguese and international theatre and film, including João Canijo, José Peixoto, Vicente Alves do Ó, Nuno Pino Custódio, Luís Varela, José Alberto Ferreira, Elsa Valentim, Nwando Ebizie, Jonathan Grieve, Leonard Petit and Shane Dempsey, among others.

As a performer, Rita is recognized for her work in productions such as The Misanthrope (Dir. Miguel Sopas), The Musical Dir. António Pires, The Gamblers co-written and directed with Brian Astbury, Unholy Trinity Dir. Jonathan Grieve and Nora, which was performed at the Camden and Clapham Fringe Festival in 2016, directed David Silva.

Rita is also a committed advocate for community and social theatre. She is co-founder of ATOA Teatro do Oprimido do Algarve and has been associated with RockSalt, among others. She is an active member of Seara, an international theatre company that bridges artists across borders.

As a playwright, she has authored several original works, including 1920 and Once I Had a Shelter, a physical theatre piece that has drawn critical attention. Director Claire Hammonds described her work as combining "raw physicality with incredible expressiveness."

Following her return to Portugal, Rita has dedicated herself to expanding theatre's reach within her community. Since 2024, she has been leading senior theatre group, and in 2025 she extended this work to community theatre also in Quarteira, bringing participatory and inclusive theatre practices to new audiences.

Her screen credits span short films, feature films, television series and soap operas.
- IMDb mini biography by: Rita do Vale Capela