Sport in Artur Azevedo's revues : a reflection of developments in late 19th century Rio de Janeiro society

In this article, we have no intention of discussing inter-semiotic dialogues or the similarities and dissimilarities that can be identified between the languages of 'sport' and 'theatre; issues that have been addressed by authors such as Schechner, Welsch and Gumbrecht. Our goal is to explore how in a specific location and period, the city of Rio de Janeiro in the final years of the 19th century, the major Brazilian playwright Artur Azevedo made sport an important theme in plays deeply rooted in that society.