sentences:  The need for a new theatre had already become manifest in the artistic community around 1906.At the time the small "São Geraldo Theatre" (along the "Avenida Central" with "Rua dos Chãos") was the only space used for theatre and cinema, but the larger Portuguese theatre companies could not stage any of their theatrical presentations in the limited stage.Artur José Soares, José António Velosos and Cândido Martins Iiderarm formed the "Sociedade do Teatro Circo", and began collecting the materials from the demolished Convent on 16 December 1907.