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Starting February 14, 2025, you are invited to the Studio Hall to see The Prophet Elijah (Prophet Ilya) by Tadeusz Słobodzianek, the play chosen by director Botond Nagy for his second staging at the I.L. Caragiale National Theatre in Bucharest, after "The Word Progress on My Mother's Lips Doesn't Ring True" by Matei Visniec. The works of Tadeusz Słobodzianek (director, playwright, theater director) are among the most original in contemporary Polish drama and have been awarded prestigious Polish literary prizes. Among his best-known creations is the stage tript consisting of the dramas: “Tsar Nicholas” (1985), “The Prophet Ilya” (1992), and “Death of a Prophet” (2011). “The Prophet Ilya” is based on information published by Włodzimierz Pawluczuk, a sociologist and religious scholar, who described the phenomenon of the Prophet Ilya in his 1974 study centered on the figure of Eliasz Klimowicz, an eccentric man who lived in the northeastern Polish region of Białystok in the 30s and 40s. A reportage about the end of the world; the story of a group of people who broke away from the Greek Orthodox Church and tried to build their own world in a small godforsaken village. Klimowicz, who owned only one book - the Bible - and all he knew about the world was information he heard by word of mouth, proclaimed himself the biblical prophet Ilya. He built an Orthodox church in a settlement called Wierszalin, where he founded a New Jerusalem and soon gathered a group of devoted followers. After some time, Ilya announced that the end of the world was near. His faithful followers awaited the apocalypse, but as their wait seemed to be in vain, they decided to help by hastening the course of history. They resorted to the familiar crucifixion scenario and nailed the prophet to the cross just like Jesus. So Ilya's story also becomes the story of a group of people who wanted to change the world by trying to make their dreams come true. Playwright Słobodzianek explains: 'I was interested in this story because, like a crystal ball, it mirrors all the utopias we have lived through during the 20th century: Christianity, communism and nationalism, the mixing of different cultures, nations, languages and religions. We seem to have entered the 21st century with this burden, and there is no indication that we will be able to escape it - on the contrary, it seems to be getting more and more overwhelming. The Prophet Ilya is a play that explores the problems of racial hatred and bigotry, nightmares that continue to haunt us despite some fair denunciations. For Botond Nagy "The Prophet Elijah" is "a provocative and cheeky text", "an unbelievable story in XIV scenes" (the author's subtitle), with 14 characters, a tough story, which the director dresses in an image focused on light. "Everything is very comic and at the same time very painful". With this new production, Botond Nagy invites us to a deep and sincere meditation on faith and religion. If the God of Słobodzianek's drama died with Nietzsche's statement, yet He exists in the love and humanity in which the young director continues to believe. Not recommended for people under 18 - for known reasons (licentious language and scenes with sexual connotations), Tadeusz Słobododzianek's play in the stage reading signed by one of the most exciting directors of the young generation in Romania comes at a time of deep spiritual and moral crisis facing contemporary societies. Richard Bovnoczki, Aylin Cadir, Florentina Tilea, Silviu Mircescu, Emilian Marnea, Razvan Oprea, Ofelia Popii, Florin Calbajos, Lari Giorgescu, Vitalie Bichir, Mihai Calota - well-known names of the TNB stage, who were joined by the very young Leonard Chionac, Oana Laura Gabriela, Teo Dinca. Irina Moscu - Scenography, Diana Nechit - Dramaturg, Claudiu Urse - Original Music and Sound design, Cristian Niculescu - Lighting design and Video design, all had a significant contribution to create the world and atmosphere of the performance. The first performances will take place on February 14, 15, 16 (official premiere) and March 20, 2025, at 19.00 and on March 22 at 12.00. Tickets are available at the TNB box office and online at tnb.ro. Translated by Andreea Codrea-Boeriu
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The new year begins at “I.L. Caragiale” National Theatre with a premiere directed by Felix Alexa: Out at Sea by Slawomir Mrożek, on the stage of the Pictura Hall. With an outstanding cast and an atmosphere of extraordinary plasticity created by set designers Stefan Caragiu and Liliana Cenean, director Felix Alexa reimagines Slawomir Mrożek's black comedy from the 1960s for today's audiences. Perhaps the best one-act play by one of the most important playwrights of the 20th century, Out at Sea is a political parable and at the same time an absurdist comedy with a disturbing message behind the humor. Although written in the midst of Soviet censorship, the play is disturbingly topical and seems straight out of today's headlines.4 The play follows the fate of three starving shipwrecked people trying to find a "democratic" way to decide which of them will be eaten by the other two. The arguments become more and more demagogic, the bullying and cajoling more and more intense, until the interventions of a passing postman and an old servant push the action to a frightening climax. "Out at Sea" condemns, through the cynicism, absurdity and satire so characteristic of Mrożek's writing, the Machiavellian brutality of political power at all times. "What could be more topical today than "man being eaten by man", as a character in Mrożek's play puts it? I would say that today we are revolving around the nuances of this cannibalistic action, in all its senses. A brilliantly clever text, "Out at Sea" now becomes much more exciting, dangerous and acute than when it was written. For me, this performance is a wake-up call to the moral degradation of society. Beneath the play's subtle, dark and piercing humor lie the painful truths of our daily lives. And yet, how far can human beings go with their lack of scruples when "hunger" becomes the main element? Far enough for 'Out at Sea', this gem of absurdist theater, to become cruelly realistic." Felix Alexa The first performances will take place on January 17, 18 and 19, 2025, at 19.00, and the official premiere on January 24, at 7 pm. Translated by Andreea Codrea-Boeriu
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The "I.L. Caragiale" National Theatre from Bucharest, thanks to the "Ion Sava" Centre for Theatre Research and Creation, launches the 11th edition of the 9G program at NTB (New Generation). The 9G program was launched in January 2014 and is aimed at young theatre-makers, graduates of theatre faculties, aged up to 35, not employed in performing arts institutions. So far 40 projects have been selected, 24 of which are performances included in the NTB repertoire. The 9G program at NTB takes place in the Sala Mica Hall, a space dedicated exclusively to young artists. Conditions for participation in the 9G Program at NTB:- The team proposing the project must be made up of independent artists who have graduated from a university in this field and must not be over 35 years old.- There are no requirements or restrictions in relation to the texts submitted (classical and contemporary drama) or the type of aesthetic proposed, but the concept of a performance that focuses on the actor's art is an advantage. It is also recommended that the proposed texts have characters that correspond to the age and experience of the actors. The proposals must be submitted in digital format and must include:- Directorial concept of the performance (maximum 2 pages)- Play / Dramatization / Dramatic script in Romanian- Cast, CVs of team members. (Links can be added to recordings of performances that team members have worked on before or recorded performances can be sent via transfer)- Set and costumes sketches (for the Small Hall in Italian stage configuration - sketches attached)- Technical needs of the project 9G at the NTB. Organization:- The "I.L. Caragiale" National Theatre in Bucharest provides the space for the preparation of the performance, in the Sala Mica Hall or in one of the rehearsal rooms of the theater, for a period of four weeks (one week of which on the stage of the Sala Mica Hall). Depending on the difficulty of the proposed project, the time allocated for the preparation of the performance may be extended.- The NTB provides the technical facilities of the Sala Mica Hall, the costume warehouse, the scenery warehouse, the props, the theater workshops, without making any additional investment related to the production of the show.- Following the screening with the NTB Artistic Council, the show can be included in the repertoire of the Sala Mica Hall, in the 9G season at the NTB, benefiting from investments in the production (according to the 9G Regulation) and royalties. The actors will be paid a percentage of the takings, according to the performance recipe- Performances that are not part of the 9G repertoire at the TNB can have 3 free performances, with free admission, without payment of royalties or related rights. Project submissions are due from January 14, 2025, through February 16, 2025, in digital format at ccct9gtnb@gmail.com, and by March 4, 2025, the titles and teams that made the final shortlist will be announced. Following discussions with the teams, the titles selected to begin rehearsals in the 9G Program will be decided (as per the attached rules). Project submissions are due from January 14, 2025, through February 16, 2025, in digital format at ccct9gtnb@gmail.com, and by March 4, 2025, the titles and teams remaining on the shortlist will be announced. Following discussions with the teams, the titles selected to begin rehearsals in the 9G Program will be decided (as per the attached rules). Important: 9G rules and technical drawings of the Sala Mica Hall are available on www.tnb.ro. Translated by Andreea Codrea-Boeriu
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