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7 May 2019, 20:00, THE BROKEN JUGafter Heinrich von Kleist, performance and script concept: Armin Petras,

directed by Dominic Friedel, venue: Fabrica de Cultură, 1-3 Triajului St, Sibiu

8 May 2019, 20:00, FAUSTafter J. W. Goethe, directed by Silviu Purcărete, venue: Fabrica de Cultură, 1-3 Triajului St, Sibiu

9 May 2019, 20:00, FAUSTafter J. W. Goethe, directed by Silviu Purcărete, venue: Fabrica de Cultură, 1-3 Triajului St, Sibiu

10 May 2019, 20:00, WAITING FOR GODOTby Samuel Beckett, directed by Silviu Purcărete, venue: Fabrica de Cultură, 1-3 Triajului St, Sibiu

11 May 2019, 13:00, A STREETCAR NAMED POPESCUscript for a community theatre performance by Gavriil Pinte, based on the antemortem and

posthumous works of Cristian Popescu, venue: tram travelling from Sibiu to Rășinari and return

11 May 2019, 19:00, THE BALLafter an idea by Théâtre de Campagnol, directed by Radu Alexandru Nica,

venue: Fabrica de Cultură, 1-3 Triajului St, Sibiu

12 May 2019, 18:00, THE SCARLET PRINCESSscript by Silviu Purcărete, inspired from Sakura Hime Azuma Bunshô, by Tsuruya Namboku IV,

directed by Silviu Purcărete, venue: 1-3 Triajului St, Sibiu

P R OG R AMME

“RADU STANCA” NATIONAL THEATRE OF SIBIU

7-12 MAY 2019

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TheBroken

Jugafter Heinrich von Kleist

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The Broken Jug, after Heinrich von KleistPerformance concept and script: Armin Petras

DIRECTED BY: Dominic Friedel SCENOGRAPHY: Karoline Bierner and Alin GavrilăORIGINAL MUSIC AND MUSICAL PRODUCTION: Vasile Șirli

TRANSLATED INTO ROMANIAN BY: Silvana ProdanTEXT ADAPTATION: Emőke Boldizsár and Claudia Maior

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Emőke BoldizsárPROJECT MANAGER: Claudia Maior

CAST: Marius Turdeanu (Adam), Pali Vecsei (Licht), Fabiola Petri (Eve), Diana Văcaru – Lazăr (Marthe Rull –Eve’s mother), Florin Coșuleț (Ruprecht Tümpel),

Simona Negrilă (Miss Brgitte), Daniel Plier (Walter), Raluca Iani (Grete), Emőke Boldizsár (Liese), Cristina Juks (beautiful woman), Dana Lăzărescu (Adam’s mother), Vlad Robaș (Leberecht),

Adrian Matioc (Tümpel, Ruprecht’s father), Eduard Pătrașcu (Tümpel’s brother, Ruprecht’s uncle), Viorel Rață (court clerk), Iustinian Turcu (Adam’s son), Rodica Mărgărit (cook)

Contemporary dance choreography: Adriana Bârză-Cârstea.

With the extraordinary participation of the Professional Folk Ensemble “Cindrelul - Junii Sibiului”

CHEOREOGRAPHY: Silvia MacreaMusicians: Gabriel Popescu (violin), Nicușor Balea (tárogató),

Petre Vițelar (accordion), Ciprian Oprea (double bass)Dancers: Monica Maria Negrea, Maria Iulia Mutruc, Ileana Maria Bulz,

Denisa Andreea Radu, Alina Georgiana Rînjeu, Adriana Maria Ioniță, Ilie Marian Marin, Silviu Florin Negrea, Ioan Bogdan Mutruc, Dragoș Constantin Boriga,

George Sebastian Ștreng, Grigore Florin Bulz

PERFORMANCE TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH.APPROXIMATE DURATION: 1H 30MIN

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7synopsisIn a Romanian “bigger village or a smaller town”, the visit of a Brussels official disturbs the life of the inhabitants, especially of the Court employees, who must solve a difficult case on the spot, in front of the representative of the European Commission order. The attempt to settle this apparently unsolvable case, in which a woman accuses one of the young men that he “shattered her daughter’s jug”, is complemented by choreography and live music scenes, used by the director, Dominic Friedel, to create a sharp critique of Romanian contemporary society and of European institutions, as well as to pay homage to the beautiful Romanian folklore, whose message is still very topical. Armin Petras’ adaptation of the text by Heinrich von Kleist is an almost cynical overview of interhuman and institutional relations under the sign of corruption, vices, and power.

“The Broken Jug”, staged by the National Theatre in Sibiu, is first and foremost an exercise of admiration for the everlasting artistic values of Romania, which despite facing the accelerated globalization process, keeps alive the pure energy allowing us to live both in the present, and in the past, as Armin Petras puts it. In spite of the countless justice issues faced by Europe, the great quality of the Romanian space lies in its capacity to preserve its traditions, to preserve the “jug” holding all the traditional forms of artistic expression, which we can use to fight against the plague of being uprooted or even against the compromises of justice that could condemn us to a sterile cyclicality, under absurd leaders who continue to exercise their power unhinderedly, even if their actions are very much corrupt.Oscillating between tragicomedy and autochthonous musical, TNRS’ “Broken Jug” brings the Professional Folk Ensemble “Cindrelul - Junii Sibiului” alongside the actors for the first time, and acts as a lucid glance over the contemporary European community, and a love statement for the purifying force of Romanian folklore.

about the authorHeinrich von Kleist (1777-1811) was a reputed German writer and a prominent figure of Romanticism, whose existence is surrounded by a mythological aura because of his suicide. A poet, novelist, playwright and essayist, Kleist was a successful writer of all these literary genres, as the echoes of his works are still

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very topical. In theatre, he is well-known for texts such as “Amphitryon” (1807), “Penthesilea” (1805-1807), “The Broken Jug” (1808), “The Prince of Homburg” (1808) or “Katie of Heilbronn or The Trial by Fire” (1810). Kleist is considered Germany’s true tragic poet, quite ignored by Goethe, but highly appreciated by Nietzsche, who found that Kleist’s “uniqueness” was the sign of a tragic “impossibility to live”. A very fine theoretician, many of his ideas of art, literature and theatre stand at the basis of considerable progresses recorded in the 20th century. Kleist’s plays played a part in shaping the aesthetic of Romanticism, thanks to their syncretic character. Shakespeare’s influence, manifested as the balance between the formal Greek rigour and an air of vitalism, is highly visible in his dramas, which are both a combination of comic and tragic genres, as well as a fusion between mythology and Christian sacredness.

Even though one of the great frustrations of his life stemmed from the fact that his plays were not performed, Kleist is nowadays considered an essential creator helping us understand the artistic progress of the past centuries. Thus, starting with the 20th century, his works have been adapted for both theatre, and cinema by important European directors, and “The Broken Jug” became one of his most played texts. First staged in 1808 at the Weimer Theatre, led by Goethe, “The Broken Jug” was one Germany’s first realist dramas with comical accents, telling the story of judge Adam who tried to seduce a young peasant girl. In this play, through the main character, Kleist recreates a comical Oedipus, in which the author merges all his beliefs and obsessions about justice and the images of the judge.

about the directorArmin Petras was born in Meschede, Sauerland, but grew up in East Berlin, after moving with his parents in the German Democratic Republic in 1969. In 1985-1987, he studied Directing at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts, Berlin, and co-founded the independent theatre group “Medea Ost”.

In 1987, he produced “Wolokolamsker Chaussee 1-3”, by Heiner Müller, at the Nordhausen Theatre. In 1988, he left the GDR and moved to West Berlin. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, he produced shows in both East, and West Theatres: Kleist Theater in Frankfurt an der Oder, Chemnitz Theatre, Freie Kammerspiele Magdeburg, Schauspiel Leipzig, Nationaltheater Mannheim, Volkstheater Rostock, Berliner Ensemble, Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz Berlin,

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Schauspiel Hanovra, Bayerisches Staatsschauspiel, Munich. In 1996-1999, he was a guest director at the Nordhausen Theatre and also worked as a director for the Leipzig Theatre. In 19992002, he was appointed acting director of the Kasses State Theatre, and in 2002, he became a full-time director at Schauspiel Frankfurt, where he started managing Schmidtstraße the very next year. Moreover, he directed performances at the Thalia Theatre in Hamburg and at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. Starting the season 2006/2007 until the end of season 2012/2013, he was the artistic director of Berlin’s “Maxim Gorki” Theatre, and the following year he was appointed manager of Schauspiel Stuttgart.

Dominic Friedel was born in Ansbach in 1980 and studied theatre and media, political sciences and psychology at Friedrich–Alexander University Erlangen–Nürnberg. While studying, he was involved in numerous theatre and film projects as director and actor, quickly becoming an assistant director at Schauspielhaus Bochum, at the Thalia Theatre in Hamburg, and at the Münchner Kammerspiele. In 2007-2011, Dominic Friedel was Armin Petras’ full-time assistant director at the “Maxim Gorki” Theatre in Berlin, but also a collaborator of Milan Peschel, Jan Bosse, Jorinde Dröse, Barbara Weber, Roger Vontobel, Nora Schlocker, Felicitas Brucker, Rainald Grebe, Nuran David Calis and Stefan Bachmann.

Dominic Friedel also collaborated very well with author Philipp Löhle, alongside whom he developed the format “Löhles’ comments on reality” at “Maxim Gorki” Theatre in Berlin. In 2013, he participated at 2013 Theatertage, at the Bonn Theatre, with his premiere “It’s the Wind that Makes the Flag”, and the same year he was invited to the theatre reunion NRW 2013. In 2012-2015, Dominic Friedel was the director of Mannheim National Theatre, where he staged the world premiere of Martin Heckmann play, “Einer und eine” (2012), “The Trial”, after Franz Kafka (2013), and the double production “The Marriage of Maria Braun / The Man Outside”, by Rainer W. Fassbinder/Wolfgang Borchert (2014). In the next two years, Dominic Friedel directed “Kasimir and Karoline”, by Odon von Horváth, at Schauspielhaus Graz, which brought him a nomination for the “Nestroy” Award, Austria.

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FAUSTafter J. W. Goethe

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Faust, after J. W. GoetheSCRIPT BY/DIRECTED BY: Silviu Purcărete

TRANSLATED INTO ROMANIAN BY: Şt. A. DoinaşSET & LIGHT DESIGN: Helmut Stürmer

COSTUMES: Lia ManţocORIGINAL MUSIC: Vasile Șirli

MUSICAL ARRANGEMENT: Doru ApreoteseiVIDEO: Andu Dumitrescu

ASSISTANT SCENOGRAPHER: Daniel Răduță

CAST: Mephisto: Ofelia Popii Faust: Miklós Bács

Margarita: Eliza Blănaru, Eveline Buta, Iunis Minculete, Simona Negrilă, Francesca Pop, Andreea Preda, Alexandra Spătărelu, Oana Vlad

With: Johanna Adam, Veronica Arizancu, Geraldina Basarab, Emőke Boldizsár, Anca Cipariu, Mihai Coman, Ioana Cosma, Ali Deac, Diana Fufezan, Raluca Iani,

Dana Maria Lăzărescu, Alexandru Malaicu, Adrian Matioc, Mariana Mihu, Fatma Mohamed, Serenela Mureșan, Adrian Neacșu, Gabriela Neagu, Cătălin Neghină, Renate Müller-Nica, Ioan Paraschiv, Eduard Pătrașcu, Cătălin Pătru, Gabriela Pîrlițeanu,

Cristina Ragos, Viorel Rață, Vlad Robaș, Cristina Stoleriu, Dana Taloș, Arina Ioana Trif, Cendana Trifan, Ștefan Tunsoiu, Iustinian Turcu, Marius Turdeanu, Codruța Vasiu,

Pali Vecsei, Liviu Vlad, alongside the students and graduates of the LBUS Department of Drama and Theatre Studies and TNRS collaborators.

Electric band: Dorin Pitariu, Călin Filip, Lucian Fabro, Ciprian Oancea.Cristian Stanca – the wolf

Faust the dog - trainer: Silviu Stan

PERFORMANCE TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH.APPROXIMATE DURATION: 1H 55MIN

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synopsisAn important landmark of post-1989 Romanian theatre, this production by the “Radu Stanca” National Theatre in Sibiu significantly contributed to the advancement of national cultural values, all the while supporting a productive dialogue between Romanian and European artists. This was also confirmed by the prizes it won, as well as by the tours it went on: Award for Best Actress and Best Scenography Award - 2008 UNITER Awards, participation at the 2008 Goethe Festival in Frankfurt and at the 2009 Edinburgh International Theatre Festival, as part of the official selection, 2009 Herald Angel Award, Excellence Award - 2010 UNITER Awards.“Faust” is more than a theatre performance. Violent, emotional and visceral, “Faust” invites the audience to a strong individual experience about pain, death and love. “Faust” directed by Silviu Purcărete is characterized by complexity of the artistic vision, as an extrasensory experience placed between Earth and Hell, a scenery amplified by video projections, fireworks, live rock music, tens of actors and dancers and an original soundtrack by Vasile Șirli. This modern “Faust” is based on improvisation, as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's text is only the starting point of a theatre composition in which words do not take the limelight. The script of the Sibiu performance captures the essential moments in Goether’s text: Faust’s pact with the Devil, Faust’s passion for Margarita, Walpurgis Night and Faust’s ascent to Heaven. The production stands out through its impressive set and light design, provocatively suggestive elegant or burlesque costumes, entertaining or overwhelming music with sound effects that add to that eccentric environment, video projections ingeniously framed in the architecture of the mise en scène, that is monumentally created with the help of over 120 actors, performed in an abandoned industrial hall.

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about the authorJ. W. Goethe (1749-1832) was a poet, playwright, novelist, theatre director, literary critic; he is considered the most important personality of modern German literature. His entire adult life, he was obsessed with writing “Faust”, his masterpiece par excellence. Although we don’t have clear information on this great tragedy about a man who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for knowledge and the countless pleasures of earthly life, it seems like a 1769 first draft of “Faust” already revolutionized the history of the famous character, breaking away with previous literary versions, such as the one by Christopher Marlowe. The author would add to this first manuscript (also known as “Urfaust”) after 1775, turning it into a drama, with poetic and ballad-like influences in line with the stylistic demands of the Sturm und Drang movement.

awards and toursParticipation at the National Theatre Festival in Bucharest, Romania, 2007 Award for Best Actress and Best Scenography Award - UNITER Awards, Bucharest, Romania, 2008.Participation at the Goethe Theatre Festival, Germany, 2008Participation at the Edinburgh International Theatre Festival, Scotland, 2009 Herald Angel Award, Scotland, 2009 Excellence Award - UNITER Awards, Bucharest, Romania, 2010Participation at MITEM Festival (Madách International Theatre Meeting), Budapest, Hungary, 2017

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about the directorSilviu Purcărete began his artistic career in Bucharest in 1974 and soon earned himself a reputation for his exceptional creations. In 1986, he staged a performance after “Campiello” by Goldoni and won the National Prize for Theatre. During 1989-1996 he worked for the National Theatre of Craiova, where he developed numerous productions that were appreciated on national and international scale. In 1992, he became the Artistic Director of the Bulandra Theatre in Bucharest. In 1996, he became the Director of Centre Dramatique National at the Théâtre de l’Union in Limoges, France, where he staged “Orestia”, “The Three Sisters” and “Don Juan”, and founded a school for young actors. In 2012, he founded his own theatre company.His most memorable stagings include: “The Dwarf in the Summer Garden” by D.R. Popescu, “King Ubu and Scenes from Macbeth” after Alfred Jarry and W. Shakespeare, “Titus Andronicus” by W. Shakespeare, “Phaedra” after Seneca and Euripides, “The Danaids” and “Orestia” by Aeschylus, “The Twelfth Night” by W. Shakespeare (National Theatre of Craiova), “Faust”, “Gulliver’s Travels”, “Carnival Stuff” (“Radu Stanca” National Theatre of Sibiu). Abroad, he staged plays such as: “La Bohème”, by Giacomo Puccini (Essen), “Parsifal”, by Richard Wagner (Scottish Opera), “Roberto Devereux”, by Gaetano Donizetti (Wiener Staatsoper), “Castor et Polux”, by Jean-Philippe Rameau (Bonn Opera).

Silviu Purcărete was awarded numerous prizes and distinctions, including: the Critics’ Prize and the Artistic Excellence Prize by the Hamada Foundation (Edinburgh International Festival, 1991); the Best Foreign Production at the Festival TransAmériques in Montreal (1993); Golden Globe Peter Brook Prize for Best Director 1995; Critics’ Award at the Dublin Festival (1996), Special Jury Prize at the Gdansk International Shakespeare Festival (2006), “Herald Angel” Award, Edinburgh (2012).

Starting with 2003, Silviu Purcărete is a personal member of the Union of European Theatres.

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Waiting forGODOT

by Samuel Beckett

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Waiting for Godot – by Samuel BeckettDIRECTED BY: Silviu Purcărete

SCENOGRAPHY: Silviu Purcărete

CAST: Constantin Chiriac, Marian Râlea, Cristian Stanca, Pali Vecsei, Andrei Văcariu

PIANO: Monica Florescu - Fernandez CELLO: Makcim Fernandez Samodaev

VIOLIN: Cosmin Fidileș

PERFORMANCE TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH.APPROXIMATE DURATION: 2H

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synopsisThe play “Waiting for Godot” imposes no moral on the spectator, nor does it hide any hope. To understand such a play, you must see the immensity of the world reduced to the dimensions of your own spirit in it, and a perpetually ambivalent humanity in the two vagabonds.Beckett was careful not to provide the key to the events that we always look for and proved his technical resourcefulness by playing with our expectations. “Waiting for Godot” has the power of an infinite adaptability. The play features previously unsaid feelings and emotions, but which, under Beckett’s guidance, we can recognise as our own... Waiting for Godot - a supplication, a reflex, a veil...“Always on the edge between real dialogue and slips into the unreal, the irrational, the virtual, the dream. In this performance, Beckett’s play is staged in a cinematic style. A path made up of short, abrupt strokes, clearly emphasizing the deviations towards fiction, towards the imagination of the two characters, towards the hallucinating oscillation between essences and appearances.” (Marina Constantinescu)

about the authorSamuel Beckett (1906-1989) is one of the world’s best writers, winner of the 1969 Nobel Prize in Literature. A playwright, novelist, poet, critic and translator, Samuel Beckett is especially known for the play Waiting for Godot, which revolutionized the theatre language of the last century, being considered the first great work of the theatre of the absurd. Having written in both English and French, Samuel Beckett’s literature captures the axiological crisis of modern people, drawing memorable characters that face multiple forms of human misery, and wander through the labyrinth of their own lives desperately looking for a meaning.

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about the directorSilviu Purcărete began his artistic career in Bucharest in 1974 and soon earned himself a reputation for his exceptional creations. In 1986, he staged a performance after “Campiello” by Goldoni and won the National Prize for Theatre.

During 1989-1996 he worked for the National Theatre of Craiova, where he developed numerous productions that were appreciated on national and international scale. In 1992, he became the Artistic Director of the Bulandra Theatre in Bucharest. In 1996, he became the Director of Centre Dramatique National at the Théâtre de l’Union in Limoges, France, where he staged “Orestia”, “The Three Sisters” and “Don Juan”, and founded a school for young actors. In 2012, he founded his own theatre company.His most memorable stagings include: “The Dwarf in the Summer Garden” by D.R. Popescu, “King Ubu and Scenes from Macbeth” after Alfred Jarry and W. Shakespeare, “Titus Andronicus” by W. Shakespeare, “Phaedra” after Seneca and Euripides, “The Danaids” and “Orestia” by Aeschylus, “The Twelfth Night” by W. Shakespeare (National Theatre of Craiova), “Faust”, “Gulliver’s Travels”, “Carnival Stuff” (“Radu Stanca” National Theatre of Sibiu). Abroad, he staged plays such as: “La Bohème”, by Giacomo Puccini (Essen), “Parsifal”, by Richard Wagner (Scottish Opera), “Roberto Devereux”, by Gaetano Donizetti (Wiener Staatsoper), “Castor et Polux”, by Jean-Philippe Rameau (Bonn Opera).

Silviu Purcărete was awarded numerous prizes and distinctions, including: the Critics’ Prize and the Artistic Excellence Prize by the Hamada Foundation (Edinburgh International Festival, 1991); the Best Foreign Production at the Festival TransAmériques in Montreal (1993); Golden Globe Peter Brook Prize for Best Director 1995; Critics’ Award at the Dublin Festival (1996), Special Jury Prize at the Gdansk International Shakespeare Festival (2006), “Herald Angel” Award, Edinburgh (2012).

Starting with 2003, Silviu Purcărete is a personal member of the Union of European Theatres.

25awards and toursParticipation at the Wuzhen International Internet Exhibition & Convention Center (Wuzhen Theatre Festival), China, 2018Participation at the “Reunion of National Theatres”, Chișinău, Republic of Moldova, 2015Participation at the Tbilisi International Theatre Festival, Georgia, 2013Participation at the National Theatre Festival in Bucharest, Romania, 2012Participation at the Bogota Theatre Festival, Columbia, 2012Participation at the International Black Sea Theatre Festival Trabzon, Turkey, 2009Participation at the Theatre Festival in Piatra Neamț, Romania, 2008 Participation at the World Theatre Festival, Zagreb, Croatia, 2008Participation at the Seoul Performing Arts Festival, South Korea, 2007Participation at the Festival du Théatre Francophone “Coup de théâtre”, Bucharest, Romania, 2006Participation at the Iberoamerican Theatre Festival of Bogota, Columbia, 2006

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A STREETCARNAMED

POPESCUscript for a community theatre

performance by Gavriil Pinte, based on the antemortem and posthumous

works of Cristian Popescu

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A Streetcar Named Popescu – script for a community theatre performance by Gavriil Pinte, based on the antemortem

and posthumous works of Cristian PopescuDIRECTED BY: Gavriil Pinte

SCENOGRAPHY AND COSTUMES: Roxana Ionescu

CAST: Florin Coșuleț, Veronica Popescu/Arina Ioana Trif, Diana Văcaru Lazăr, Liviu Vlad, Dana Taloş, Cătălin Neghină,

Gabriela Pîrlițeanu, Codruța Vasiu, Vlad Robaş

PERFORMANCE TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH.APPROXIMATE DURATION: 2H 30MIN

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synopsis“A Streetcar Named Popescu” is a community theatre project, an itinerant, unconventional performance based on a dramatization created by the director starting from the antemortem and posthumous works of poet Cristian Popescu (poems and essays). The greatest part of the performance takes place in the tram travelling on the route Sibiu-Răşinari and return. In the first part of the show, after the audience gets on the tram and it sets into motion, the characters of Popescu Family and Popescu Art are brought “into stage”. In the last station, in Răşinari, an animation theatre episode takes place, a lyric parody after “Master Leonidas Faces the Reactionaries” by I.L. Caragiale. The puppets-installations, Leonida and Efimiţa, based on the bunraku concept, are brought to life by the entire group of actors. On the way back from Răşinari, Popescu’s Arts unfold: theatre, circus, music, dance, painting and film.

‘When he was with us, Cristi used to say: “Old boy, let’s grab a camera, get on trams, and make poems based on people (…). Cristi’s poems are theatrical, perhaps among the most theatrical I’ve ever known. Even his essays resemble monologues. All I did was find the characters. It’s as if I called their names and they appeared before me with lines, in (dramatic) situations, displaying a funny orality and, of course, poetry. (…) The Popescu Poem goes from Sibiu to Rășinari and back (…) with a group of admiration-worthy actors, who left the safety and protection of theatre halls behind and embarked on an adventure - a carefully-assumed adventure, with no fear, but carefully, in a space of fragile balance, a space open to travelling spectators, as well as to the audience outside the working tram, to people in the city, in the forest or in the village. The actors’ interpretations remain unsettling.’ (Gavriil Pinte)

Spectators can get on and off the tram in the station next to the Sibiu Zoo.

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about the directorGavriil Pinte (born 1961) graduated from the School of Acting within the Târgu Mureș University of Arts in 1985, and in 1996 got his B.A. in Theatre Directing from the Bucharest National University of Theatre and Film “I.L. Caragiale”. Presently, he is the artistic director of Teatrul Național Radiofonic / Romanian Drama Radio (Societatea Română de Televiziune), and holds an impressive portfolio of radio dramas, which have brought him five UNITER Awards. Besides his prolific career in radio drama, he has also directed over 40 theatre performances throughout Romania, which brought him numerous important prizes, such as: the Radio România Cultural Award for Theatre, 2012 (for directing the show “Cioran Temptation”, at the “Radu Stanca” National Theatre in Sibiu), the Jury Prize for the Modern Staging of a Classical Text and the Award for the Best Hungarian Performance, 2005 (for “Tragedia Omului”), or the GULLIVER Festival Jury Prize, 1999 (for “Avarul – o comedie a banilor”).

about the authorCristian Popescu (1959-1995) is one of the most reputed Romanian writers of the literary movement of the 90s, as his style was unanimously acclaimed by the best Romanian critics, who dedicated pages of laudatory pages in recent histories and studies. After his debut, in 1986, with the volume “Cuvânt înainte” (Foreword), which brought him the Debut Award from Cartea Românească Publishing House, Cristian Popescu also stood out due to two books of poems, which were fundamental to understanding Romanian poetic discourse at the end of the 20th century: “Arta Popescu” (Popescu Art) and “Familia Popescu” (Popescu Family), which will stand at the basis of several theatre shows, including Gavriil Pinte’s staging at the National Theatre in Sibiu.

awards and toursParticipation at Comedy Cluj, Cluj-Napoca, 2012Participation at Toamna Orădeană Festival, Oradea, 2008Participation at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, Romania, 2007

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The

BALLafter an idea of

théâtre de Campagnol

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The Ball, after an idea of Théậtre de CampagnolDIRECTED BY: Radu Alexandru Nica

SCRIPT: Radu Alexandru Nica and Mihaela MichailovSCENOGRAPHY: Helmut Stürmer

CHOREOGRAPHY: Carmen CoțofanăMUSIC: Vasile Șirli

CAST: Mihai Alexandru, Veronica Arizancu, Florin Coșuleț, Diana Fufezan, Adrian Matioc, Adrian Neacșu,

Gabriela Neagu, Cătălin Pătru, Ofelia Popii, Viorel Rață, Codruța Vasiu/Raluca Iani, Pali Vecsei

PERFORMANCE TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH.APPROXIMATE DURATION: 1H 40MIN

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synopsis‘Condensed, unexplained history, in conflicting moving particles. “The Ball” is silent. Past and present Romania meet at the intersection of the gestures which paved history. Why favour a certain discourse formula in a performance? Because through it, one arrives to the essence of the designated space and time more easily. “The Ball” represents Romania moulded into a larger body – collective history, and a minor body – the individual.

History happens through exemplary gestures, radical movements, and a continuous oscillation between aberrations and necessities. “The Ball” is a synthesis of these driving forces. (...) “The Ball” compresses Romania into bodies that move back and forth. Bodies that raft over history. From the 20s to the 2000s, Romania has been in constant motion, borrowing from the flesh of transitions and the bone structure of emblematic decisions. What if certain things didn’t happen?

History is cynical. It is a concerted macro-movement, divided into the micro-movements of destiny. “The Ball” starts when gestures detonate history. Long after the big words were spoken.’ (Mihaela Michailov)

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about the directorRadu Alexandru Nica (b. 1979) is a theatre director and historian. He graduated from the Directing School of the “Babeș-Bolyai” University in Cluj-Napoca, after having studied Theatrology at Ludwig-Maximiliams-Universität in Munich and Directing at Bayerische Theaterakademie “August Everding”. He holds a Theatre PhD from the Art University of TârguMureș and is now a Professor at the Cluj-Napoca Faculty of Theatre and Television. At the “Radu Stanca” National Theatre of Sibiu, he has directed numerous shows, including “I Hired a Contract Killer” (by Aki Kaurismäki), “Nora” (by Henrik Ibsen), “Time to Love, Time to Die” (by Fritz Kater), “The Ball” (after an idea of Théâtre du Campagnol), “Hamlet” (by W. Shakespeare), and “Breaking the Waves” after Lars von Trier (2010 UNITER nominee for Best Performance). He has been a guest director of leading Romanian theatres, such as those in Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Iași, Bucharest, etc. At the same time, his performances were played on the stages in Chicago, Liverpool, Munich, Gdansk, Essen, Heidelberg, Ulm and so on. He has received numerous prizes and distinctions, including the UNITER Debut Prize (in 2005, for “Nora”) and two Best Director nominations at the UNITER Awards, for “The Mountain bikers” by Vokler Schmidt, staged at the German State Theatre in Timișoara (2012), and “Incendies”, by Wajdi Mouawad, produced by the “Csiky Gergely” Hungarian State Theatre in Timișoara (2015).

awards and toursParticipation at the 2012-2013 season of Theater Esch, LuxemburgParticipation at the Liverpool International Theatre Festival, UK, 2008Participation at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, Romania, 2007Participation at the National Theatre Festival in Bucharest, Romania, 2005

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THESCARLET PRINCESS

Script by Silviu Purcărete,inspired from Sakura Hime Azuma Bunshô,

by Tsuruya Namboku IV

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The Scarlet Princess – script by Silviu Purcărete, inspired from Sakura Hime Azuma Bunshô,

by Tsuruya Namboku IVDIRECTED BY: Silviu Purcărete

TRANSLATION FROM ENGLISH: Eugen GyemantORIGINAL MUSIC: Vasile Șirli SCENOGRAPHY: Dragoș BuhagiarASSISTANTS DIRECTOR: Eugen Gyemant and Sanda Anastasof

ASSISTANT SCENOGRAPHER: Iuliana GherghescuFACE DESIGNER: Minela Popa

MAKE-UP: Elena Vlad, Corina Predescu, Alexandra SpătăreluPROJECT MANAGER: Claudia Domnicar

MARKETING COORDINATOR: Eliza Ceprăzaru

CAST: Ofelia Popii, Iustinian Turcu, Dana Taloș, Adrian Matioc, Diana Văcaru Lazăr, Cristian Stanca, Diana Fufezan, Raluca Iani, Mariana Mihu,

Adrian Neacșu, Pali Vecsei, Vlad Robaș, Veronica Popescu, Cristina Stoleriu, Alexandru Malaicu, Codruța Vasiu, Serenela Mureșan, Johanna Adam,

Cristina Ragos, Cendana Trifan, Oana Marin, Veronica Arizancu, Arina Ioana Trif, Fabiola Petri, Gabriela Pîrlițeanu, Ioana Cosma, Cristina Blaga, Ștefania Marola,

Eduard Pătrașcu, Mihai Coman, Viorel Rață, Liviu Vlad, Cătălin Neghină, Ștefan Tunsoiu, Andrei Gîlcescu, Alin Turcu

PERFORMANCE TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH.APPROXIMATE DURATION: 2H 30MIN, With intermission

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41synopsis“The Scarlet Princess” is based on an original script by Silviu Purcărete, which is built on Tsuruya Namboku the fourth’s kabuki play.

Kabuki is one of the most important styles of Japanese theatre, characterized by visual elegance and a complex set of conventions. The origin of Kabuki theatre stems from sensual and comical scenes interpreted by priestess Okuni and her group of actresses. Okuni adapted the ritual performance style which used to be practiced in temples into scripts tackling secular, often lewd topics. The plays’ success was mainly due to their erotic scenes, which often led to spectators brawling over actresses, who also engaged in prostitution. Because of this, women were prohibited to play in kabuki shows, and were replaced by young men. Twenty years later, when it was discovered that the young men did the same, they were also excluded. Therefore, all the roles in kabuki shows were played by mature men.

Inspired by this theatre tradition, Silviu Purcărete aims at creating a European performance, following the Kabuki text, rules and space, but reinterpreted in his personal manner. Over time, the story of Princess Sakura (cherry blossom) has undergone many transformations, from the original version, dating from 1817, to the most well-known variant, the one played by the Tokyo National Theatre in 1967.

In the last 25 years of his life, Tsuruya Namboku IV wrote more than 100 plays, and the story of Princess Sakura is one of the most important. The author was famous for bringing popular 17th-century kabuki plays back to the public’s attention, as well as for innovating the kabuki tradition.Princess Sakura is the heroine of numerous kabuki and bunraku plays, but Namboku is the first to bring her to the limelight. The story begins when Seigen, the abbot of a temple, falls in love with his young disciple, Shiragiku. Condemned to a life of impossible love, the abbot and his disciple decide to commit suicide. The young man dies, but the abbot survives. Seventeen years later, when Princess Sakura comes to the temple to become a nun, Seigen recognizes her as the feminine reincarnation of Shiragiku and falls in love again.“The Scarlet Princess” abounds in tales about obsessive love, murders, reincarnations and revenge. The performance takes on these themes and, with humour and self-irony, creates an effervescent commentary of the dialogue between European and Japanese culture.

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about the authorTsuruya Namboku  IV (1744-1829), the pseudonym of Ebiya Genzō, also known as Dai Namboku, was a Kabuki Japanese playwright renowned for his plays with supernatural themes and gruesome and grotesque characters. Around 1780, he married the daughter of Tsuruya Namboku, at the time a famous kabuki actor. After a long apprenticeship under playwright Sakurada Jisuke I, around 1801, he became the main playwright of the Kawarazaki-za Theatre in Edo. Ten years later, he started using the name Tsuruya Namboku IV. He wrote about 120 plays, portraying the life of simple people, and creating a phantomatic universe, full of humour, passion and cruelty.

about the directorSilviu Purcărete began his artistic career in Bucharest in 1974 and soon earned a reputation for his exceptional creations. In 1986, he staged a performance after Campiello by Goldoni and won the National Prize for Theatre. In 1989-1996, he worked for the National Theatre of Craiova, where he developed numerous productions that were critically appraised both nationally, and internationally. In 1992, he became the Artistic Director of the Bulandra Theatre in Bucharest. In 1996, he became the Director of Centre Dramatique National at the Théâtre de l’Union in Limoges, France, where he staged “Orestia”, “The Three Sisters” and “Don Juan”, and founded a school for young actors. In 2012, he founded his own theatre company.

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His most memorable stagings include: “The Dwarf in the Summer Garden” by D.R.  Popescu, “King Ubu and Scenes from Macbeth” after Alfred Jarry and W. Shakespeare, “Titus Andronicus” by W. Shakespeare, “Phaedra’ after Seneca and Euripides, “The Danaids” and “Orestia” by Aeschylus, “The Twelfth Night” by W. Shakespeare (National Theatre of Craiova), “Faust”, “Gulliver’s Travels”, “Carnival Stuff” (“Radu Stanca” National Theatre of Sibiu). Abroad, he staged plays such as: “La Bohème” by Giacomo Puccini (Essen) “Parsifal” by Richard Wagner (Scottish Opera), “Roberto Devereux” by Gaetano Donizetti (Wiener Staatsoper), “Castor et Polux” by Jean-Philippe Rameau (Bonn Opera).

Silviu Purcărete was awarded numerous prizes and distinctions, including: the Critics’ Prize and the Artistic Excellence Prize by the Hamada Foundation (Edinburgh International Festival, 1991); the Best Foreign Production at the Festival TransAmériques in Montreal (1993); Golden Globe Peter Brook Prize for Best Director 1995; Critics’ Award at the Dublin Festival (1996). Special Jury Prize at the Gdansk International Shakespeare Festival (2006), “Herald Angel” Award, Edinburgh (2012). Starting 2003, Silviu Purcărete has been a personal member of the Union of European Theatres.

awards and toursThe performance was played in the Romanian National Theatre Festival, on 28 October 2018.

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The story of the “Radu Stanca” National Theatre in Sibiu starts in 1788, when Martin

Hochmeister established the first theatre in Sibiu, by turning the Thick Tower within the city’s defence walls into a building for performances. The fact that the German community got involved in building this theatre led to the setting up of the German Department, which joined the existing Romanian Department of the Sibiu State Theatre, later known as the “Radu Stanca” National Theatre in Sibiu. Designed as a multifunctional body, whose main objective was to use cultural resources in a strategic manner as a starting point for

the full development of the local, regional, and national community, the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, alongside the “Radu Stanca” National Theatre of Sibiu, created the Sibiu Performing Arts Market, the Volunteer Programme, the Department of Drama and Theatre Studies (Drama, Theatre Studies/Cultural Management, and Choreography) of the “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu, as well as the Platform of Doctoral Research in the Fields of Performing Arts and Cultural Management, one of the world’s most important platforms for creativity, dialogue, and mobility in the field of performing arts. In time, the “Radu Stanca” National Theatre and its associated structures have become regional pillars in culture, education and research. Artistic quality, as well as the collaborations with renowned Romanian and foreign directors who created shows on the Sibiu stage has led to a continuous growth of new performances and new actors. Nowadays, the theatre has a team of permanent artists who contribute to 121 shows, in both Romanian and German. Starting 2001, the “Radu Stanca” National Theatre in Sibiu has been on an impressive number of more than 520 tours in both Romania and abroad, and was also invited to important festivals around the world: Edinburgh, Avignon, New

York, Brussels, Roma, Tokyo, Seoul, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Naples, Paris, Liverpool, London, Budapest, Bogota, Tampere, Poznań, Warsaw, Barcelona, Lisbon, Porto, Cairo, Yerevan, Tbilisi, Nitra, Athens, Thessaloniki, Belgrade, Varna, Lille, Tel Aviv, Omsk and Chișinău. All the activities taking place in our six performance venues, as well as in non-conventional spaces (factories, trams, on the street and in parking lots), in educational institutions, partner companies, libraries, book shops, etc. are dedicated to high quality creations and to education through culture. With a broad repertory varying from Greek tragedies to innovative 21st-century experiments, the “Radu Stanca” National Theatre in Sibiu collaborated with important directors in Romania and abroad, such as: Silviu Purcărete, Andrei Șerban, Andriy Zholdak, Kushida Kazuyoshi, Armin Petras, Mihai Măniuțiu, Tompa Gábor, Alexandru Dabija, Yury Kordonsky, Radu Afrim, Alexander Riemenschneider, Radu Alexandru Nica, Robert Raponja, Masahiro Yasuda, Gigi Căciuleanu, Dragoș Galgoțiu, Zoltán Balázs.

The “Radu Stanca” National Theatre and the Sibiu International Theatre Festival played an important role in obtaining the title of European Capital of Culture for the city of Sibiu in 2007.

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