The « tradition » of censorship in Portuguese cultural history reinforced the impact of the New State imposed by Salazar for nearly fifty years (1926-1974) with its omnipresent censorship used as a sophisticated weapon. Propaganda associated with censorship determined people’s behavior and mentality. The author refers to artists’ memoirs, directors’ archives and press articles to describe the conditions of Portuguese theatre life in that context of a highly structured surveillance system where prevention preceded repression. In view of this legislation on theatre artists indeed were compelled to imagine numerous tricks so that their texts could eventually be understood by the audience.