Dribble: Connecting Scotland and Brazil’s Football Heritage (Edinburgh Fringe) – Interview

As we start to recover from the disappointment of the World Cup, the Fringe welcomes Brazilian Theatre Company, Cênica’s Dribble to an upside-down purple cow (Udderbelly) at the Fringe. Renowned for making theatre which reflects their environment, they are truly bringing football back home. 

Dribble is a performance which celebrates the game through the contribution made by the man who brought the sport to Brazil, Scot Charles Miller, by connecting our two countries, Scotland and Brazil as audience and performers meet together in our show in the bar! The show celebrates football and our joint culture using music, humour, storytelling, and physical theatre in the performance as we celebrate the love of a party!

They document the five World Cup matches played between the two countries which also celebrates Brazil and Scotland’s historical relationship reflected in the show through costume design that incorporates the ‘Spirit of Brazil’ tartan. We met up with Director, Fagner Rodrigues to tell us all about it. 

Where did the idea for Dribble start? 

Last year we were having a beer with the Brazilian cultural attaché from the consulate in Edinburgh. They started to talk about Charles Miller, but we didn’t know about Charles Miller; we don’t know this story in Brazil. I was a soccer player years ago but even I didn’t know anything about him.

Charles Miller was only the name of a square in Sao Paulo – Praça Charles Miller, directly in front of the Pacaembu Stadium (Estádio Paulo Machado de Carvalho) in Sao Paulo. I was curious to know more about him, so I researched. As I did, a light came on, and this story was the starting point of the project. We found that Miller brought the ball, rules and taught us the difference between Scottish and English football. 

How did Miller promote football in Brazil? 

Soccer arrived in an elite place, where only the rich could play. Miller was of the rich class, but he worked with workers on the railway and spent time with them in their clubs; he had contact with workers. Playing with the labour class is why football became so popular. Born playing in the backyard, in a garden, on the street, on squares – it could mix everybody in the game. Different social classes could meet each other on the same level, but it’s a habit we’ve been losing. Charles Miller brought it to the working class, but now, Brazilians want to play like Europeans. We are losing our identity and the show talks about that too. 

Brazil has a very particular style, traditionally, but nowadays, in this World Cup, they are trying to make Brazilian football like academic football, European football, Real Madrid football.

Today, football is becoming an academic sport, (with) no taste for the Brazilian, like dribbling. Where is the dribbling? 

Brazilians got much better with the Scottish style of play than with the English. Brazilian people really connected with this idea of football. From our research we realized there was a dynasty of Scots in Brazil! Miller had a very close relationship to São Paulo, especially São Paulo’s teams.

But there are more Scots in this story and we talk about this dynasty in the show. Miller spoke English [Miller was born in Brazil to a Scottish father and Brazilian mother, then sent to Britain to be educated] and was not known as Scottish, but as an Englishman.

It’s the same with the Arabic people who arrived in Brazil at the same time, they’re Lebanese, Egyptian, Arab, but they are all ‘Turkish’! But I think one of the greatest things about the individuality of both Scotland and Brazil is that we don’t conform. We don’t pay attention. We ignore everybody else who thinks we are wrong. We’re innovative, creative, different and escape conformity. 

And we both like to party?

Yes. Our research found the joy of a people, a culture which is not only about our costumes or habits, but a sense of happiness. Those cultures are really important to make the party of The World Cup; No Scotland, no party: No Brazil, no party. 

And what can the audience expect when they come to the show?

We start outside the venue, and performers will come in with the audience. It’s a promenade production. Inside is a bar table where the performers sing, play, watch football, everything connected to their lives and memories.

It is a party environment, an act of celebration, crossed by real stories of the artists. Then they finish the show outside again. Dribble is a journey through Brazil with football, a promenade through our culture.

And the connection with real life is very personal?

On the day we watched Scotland and Brazil in 2026, the father of one of the actors died. These real stories cross, however this is an act of celebration cut through by real-life stories.

But it is not just a show for people interested in football

It is for everyone! It is an invitation to connect, to talk about memory with football as a background.

Catch Dribble at Underbelly, George Square (head to the upside-down purple cow!) from 5th till 31st August (not 17th or 24th). 

Get Tickets for Dribble