Rosia Montana
by Peca Stefan, Andreea Valean, Radu Apostol and Gianna Carbunariu
directed by Carbunariu, Valean and Apostol
Hungarian Theatre of Cluj
by Peca Stefan, Andreea Valean, Radu Apostol and Gianna Carbunariu
directed by Carbunariu, Valean and Apostol
Hungarian Theatre of Cluj
The house is set up in the round. There are three big projection screens. One behind me, one to my left and one to my right. There are little models of houses and churches, set on blocks, against the wall throughout the space. On the stage are some chairs, tables, some blocks. Four or five actors come out on stage. The slide show presentation begins. The actors walk around in various repetitive stage patterns, addressing the audience with questions. I don't understand any of it, because it's in Hungarian and there is no English translation via headset. There's supposed to be but it's not working. The aesthetic is simple, and not inspiring. I'm kind of suffering through this. Then a domestic drama begins where a lawyer or saleswoman shows up at the house of an old man who's had a tracheotomy, played by a woman. She speaks through the device that picks up the vibrations of the vocal chords. The lawyer speaks in Romanian, very professional sounding. The father and two sons are distressed. Then we have some sort of farmer or miner who is trying to blow up the mountain. He seems to be in love with a donkey. The donkey dies and is taken away by rabbits. Then it's a rock concert, smoke fills the room. This section is in English. Two kids, band members are looking for some treasure. Some sirens show up and trick them. There is some singing and dancing. It's the only visually imaginative section of the piece. The only time it comes alive. This is two hours in. The show stops for a break. I thought the piece was over. I was very upset when I learned that it was an intermission. Many people didn't know, and left the theatre. The piece was boring, went in many different directions, didn't have an emotional or intellectual core. The acting was good overall. The second half was another hour. It was more interactive with the audience, but even less focused. The piece ended when one of the actors, a young woman playing an old woman and speaking in Romanian, gives one of the Hungarian audience members a text to read in Romanian, and then the actors disappear. There is no signaling of a conclusion. We half heartedly applauded and figured it was time to go. We had to catch the 19.00 show anyway. We exited the theatre. The lobby was dark. There was no one at the coat check. No ushers. This piece kind of infuriated me for a lot of reasons. A) It needs major editing. It is far too long. B) It needs to be focus and filtered. C) The aesthetic is level I university directing seminar. D) Young actors playing old people just hardly ever works, and it didn't here. E) After suffering through 3 incoherent hours, there wasn't even a signaling that the thing was over. F) The metatheatricality of it is cheap and feels tacked on at the end. If that's the play, then let that be the play, back to B--ie, no focus. I have heard a little bit about the situation in Rosia Montana. The government is trying to get people to sell their land. Also they are apparently selling the cemeteries. If I hadn't been told about this situation beforehand, I would have left the piece having not learned anything about the situation, let alone with the feeling that I could have some sort of response to these artists reaction to it.
The Other World -- The Society and Governments of the Moon
after Cyrano de Bergerac
directed by Benjamin Lazar
Theatre de l'Incredule, France
The Other World -- The Society and Governments of the Moon
after Cyrano de Bergerac
directed by Benjamin Lazar
Theatre de l'Incredule, France
It becomes apparent in the first minute that there will be no English translation for this piece either. Okay. I'm in Romania. That's fine. Not everyone in this world should speak or understand English, and I totally am on board with that. But under the expectation that there would be translation provided throughout the festival, I'm a little disappointed, and I'm sure you can understand that. Okay, so more theatre without translation. If the piece is universal, if the piece is inspired, it's no problem. I did just fine with Leonce and Lena. Okay, so not as much with The Other World. The piece is directed and performed by Benjamin Lazar, who is accompanied by the Baroque chamber duo La Reveuse. The style of performance is French Baroque museum. There are footlights with actual fire. Everything is lit by candles. The actor and musicians are all pallid with painted faces. Lazar performs this text in a storytelling style with a ladder, a chair, and a writing stand. The musicians are positioned stage right with other instruments hanging behind them off of a wooden structure. The piece is pleasant enough for the first 15 minutes. The music is pleasant throughout. The performer is talented and interested. But the piece never develops into anything. And this type of "storytelling" theatre without translation for 120 MINUTES is pretty torturous. My Romanian is getting nowhere with this YE OLDE FRENCH text. There were a few of visually interesting things. Like how gentle he was with the fire of the candle. Bursts of intriguing phsyicality. The way he hypnotically swung a baton back and forth. But a few visually interesting things cannot carry a one man show in this museum style for two hours. I was really pleased when the whole thing was over. Why perform in a dead style with complete lack of irony or commentary? It's an intriguing question. Is it worth it? It would probably have been pleasant just pleasant if I understood French.
Ana, Gyongy, Zsuzsa and I head upstairs. I have an espresso. We're planning to go to the third show of the evening. But it is at a different theatre. We talk for a bit. Then Andras rushes up. Come on, come on, we have to go! We rush outside. There is a bus waiting. We head to the Teatru National in the Visky's van. Saci drops off Andras and I and we head inside. I see Balazs and Tom. Tom gives me a cookie. I want to talk to Balazs more, but he seems pretty reserved and I get sort of intimidated. The show is about to begin. The hold the pieces for at least a half an hour, because the previous show runs late. The Teatru National in Cluj is gorgeous and antique. The house opens and we enter. I run into the girl who lead me through the journey of Immaculate Conception in Ex-Position. I sit next to Andris.
Ana, Gyongy, Zsuzsa and I head upstairs. I have an espresso. We're planning to go to the third show of the evening. But it is at a different theatre. We talk for a bit. Then Andras rushes up. Come on, come on, we have to go! We rush outside. There is a bus waiting. We head to the Teatru National in the Visky's van. Saci drops off Andras and I and we head inside. I see Balazs and Tom. Tom gives me a cookie. I want to talk to Balazs more, but he seems pretty reserved and I get sort of intimidated. The show is about to begin. The hold the pieces for at least a half an hour, because the previous show runs late. The Teatru National in Cluj is gorgeous and antique. The house opens and we enter. I run into the girl who lead me through the journey of Immaculate Conception in Ex-Position. I sit next to Andris.
Process_In_Progress (Process_City Trilogy, part III)
after Franz Kafka and Orson Wells
adapted by Boris Bakal
directed by Bakal
Shadow Casters, Croatia
The three actors come out on the stage, and start talking to us in a casual way. It's Boris again from the fitness center, and I love this guy. "I need some help. Can someone please tell the story of Joseph K in Hungarian and then in Romanian?" No one volunteers. "Okay, that was harder, this will be a bit easier, turn to the person to your left or your right and tell them your name and your birthday." I turn to Andris and the lady next to me. "Kevin. June 23." The lady's next to me is December 24. "OK, now who has a birthday today?" No one. Okay, does anyone have one coming up? She does. Okay. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Joseph K, you were arrested today." The show takes place upstage in a proscenium. A table, two chairs on each end. A video projection to the back. There are at least four cameras set up on and around the table. Again there is no English translation. Okay, it's just that kind of day. The Romanian subtitles are easier to follow, but they are completely out of sync with the text and even I can tell this. Oh well, ok. Boris, Damir Klemenic, and Nina Violic take turns playing Joseph K, who is arrested and imprisoned for no reason. The alternate from scene to scene. The staging has a few imaginative sparks, but needs so much more. There's a casual, messy aesthetic to it, which is appealing, but never really exploited to its full potential. The video effects are interesting, almost always with two different shots layered on top of each other. Facial close-ups with a long shot of the table. Because of the lack of translation (it was performed in Croatian), I couldn't pick up much of the story line. As for the performance, it never evolved. There was an interesting frantic movement section with rapid fire monologues, and the most visually striking thing I had seen all day, one of my favorite moments of the festival so far even, when all three actors took out knives. They looked as though they were about to cut their wrists in a very cliche manner, and then all the sudden, they started tracing words on themselves on their arms on their chests with the knives. It was very disarming and interesting. Then they passed the knives in a round-robbin between the three of them quicker and quicker and this was accompanied by a shot from above. There were moments of inspiration here, but I wished it would have been one continual inspiration. Not enough was sparking. In terms of a conclusion to the Process_City trilogy, I struggle to find a through-line.
Here are some pictures from inside the Teatru National in Cluj:
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