News

On Wednesday, 3rd October 2018, a new edition of the project dedicated to pupils, 5 High Schools - 5 Theatres, commences. At the launching event, all the participants of this year are expected – high school students and teachers from Bucharest, organizers and partner theatres. The launch is scheduled at the I.N Socolescu Technical Architecture College, as of 11:00. ECDL Romania, alongside its partners, UNITER, the Mayor’s Office of the Bucharest Municipality, the School Inspectorate of the Bucharest Municipality and the Small Theatre, the I.L. Caragiale National Theatre of Bucharest, the Ion Creangă Theatre, the Jewish State Theatre and the NottaraTheatre, are inviting you to meet the young artists and theatre spectators. 5 High Schools - 5 Theatres is an educational project which arrived at the 8th edition, supporting the involvement of high school students in cultural activities, through their access to institutions and theatre plays, challenging them at the same time to a show contest.    The theatres are reopening their season to further 150 pupils, including members of the school theatre troupes from other 5 high schools of the capital. These shall witness free of charge plays from each of the partner theatres of the project 5 High Schools – 5 Theatres: the Small Theatre, the I.L. Caragiale National Theatre of Bucharest, the Jewish State Theatre, the Ion Creangă Theatre and the NottaraTheatre. The new schools participating in this edition of 5 High Schools – 5 Theatres are: the Ioan N. SocolescuTechnical Architecture and Public Works College, the CantemirVodă National College, the Emil Racoviţă National College, the Dinu Lipatti National Arts College, the St. Joseph Roman-Catholic College. This time as well, the teenager troupes have been coordinated by the partner theatres in staging a short play. In the year of the Centenary, texts by Romanian playwrights shall be adapted. The project shall unfold in the time frame October-December 2018 and shall be finalised with the 5 High Schools-5 Theatres Gala, when the representations, the arbitration and the awarding of the five plays presented by the teenagers shall take place. The youngsters shall then have the opportunity of climbing on a major Bucharest stage, of performing in front of a jury of theatre professionals and be applauded by a wide audience. On Wednesday, at the launching event of 5 High Schools – 5 Theatres, we undertake to find out which are the stages of this edition and we shall draw the working groups for the brief plays. Since the very first edition which started in 2011 at the initiative of the ECDL Romania, over 1000 pupils from 30 different Bucharest high schools have taken part in this project. Alternative education plays a vital role in the development of young people, who must further be directed towards real and correct values, including cultural values. The ECDL initiatives promote the balanced development of youngsters, pursuing international careers and IT&C certifications, but also understanding the act of culture, as a completion of their knowledge and competences gained in school. You are welcome on Wednesday, 3rd October 2018, from 11:00 a.m., to the Festive Hall of the I.N. Socolescu Technical Architecture College (12 Occidentului St., Bucharest).  You can find out more information on the project 5 High Schools - 5 Theatres on www.ecdl.ro or on www.facebook.com/5licee5teatre. ECDL – European Computer Driving Licence – international standard for the certification of digital competences.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu 

On 24 September and 8 October 2016, two events announcing the new season for children, at NTB! The Empire of Theatre awaits you! The story goes that in the year 6102, the Theatre Emperor shall descend in downtown Bucharest. Together with his cortege, the Emperor shall “rule” the place and transform it into a realm where Theatre will prevail. We thought that we have to wait for a long time. Upon a closer look, we realised that there is a mistake in the wording of the story. We switched the year, looking at it in the mirror and realised that 6102 was in fact 2016. The excitement of the fact that we had no more time to prepare the welcome ceremony made us change our minds and ask the Magician of Stories and his assistants for help. We wrote to him and the answer came quickly: I can, I am a Magician! Then, he got in touch with the Theatre Emperor and thus we could find out about the entire development of the event. On Saturday, 24 September 2016 and Saturday, 8 October 2016, as of 11.00, in the Media Hall, we invite you to two events announcing the opening of the season for the Abracadabra National Theatre for Children. Dear Children, you shall enter the gate of the Empire of Theatre, you shall cross the Enchanted Forest behind the Scenes - where Prince Echo awaits you with a great trial. In order to reach the Stage Empress, you need to get acquainted with the Magician of Movement, but also with Princess Sweet-Talk and Prince Chime. Many surprises await you in the Theatre Empire. Do not forget to come in disguise, as you shall be the protagonists of these events. If the Theatre Emperor cannot be present, we shall elect among you an Emperor and an Empress, which we shall baptise The Curtain. The new season of the National Theatre for Children invites you to become Fairytale Heroes in the Empire of Theatre!   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu 

The I.L. Caragiale National Theatre of Bucharest announces the premiere of the show Romeo and Juliet, after William Shakespeare, in the dramaturgical vision and direction of Yuri Kordonski, on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th September 2018, from 7.30 p.m., in the Studio Hall. Play of striking contrasts, of poetic antagonisms and devastating conflicts, drop of love in an ocean of hatred, Romeo and Juliet invites you to meditate on the contemporary world. The tragic story of the lovers from Verona, representing two families in a battle for life and death, in a society dominated by hatred and revenge, suffocated by the violence so familiar for our times, where the difference between sexes has almost vanished in the dizzying cavalcade for dominance, proves as vivid and acute as in the time of its writing. With this new enactment, Yuri Kordonski returns to NTB after 13 years since the blockbuster Heart of a Dog after Bulgakov, having Marius Manole in the role of the stray dog Sarik, creation which propelled the latter to the top of the most gifted young actors. Meanwhile, the artistic biography of the Russian director who settled in America has added further major shows on the Romanian stages: Uncle Vanya by Chekhov (UNITER 2002 award for best director), The Marriage by Gogol, Crime and punishment after Dostoyevsky, as well as Bury Me Behind the Baseboard after Pavel Sanaev, all enacted at the Bulandra Theatre of Bucharest, rewarded with countless prizes for performance. At the UNITER Awards Gala, the show Last Day of Youth, after Tadeusz Konwicki, from the "Radu Stanca" National Theatre of Sibiu, has received in the year 2012 the Best Show Award, and in 2017, The Lower Depthsfrom the Hungarian State Theatre of Cluj –Award for Best Director.Other international distinctions for his work are the Golden Light (St. Petersburg), the award of the European Theatre Union for the best enactment, as well as awards from the Romanian Ministry of Culture. Starting with 1989, he enacted theatre plays in over 20 countries worldwide, exceeding 40 enactments up to date. The show Romeo and Juliet promises a surprise both for the spectators expecting a classical enactment of the Shakespearean masterpiece, and for the ”fans” of the Russian director, who shall discover it from a completely different posture than the one known from the shows directed so far in the Bucharest theatres. The director, alongside the cast, open an excellent modern perspective on the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, leaving the life and exuberant energy of youth to find its path unhindered towards the heart of spectators of any age. The ample cast includes the actors: Marius Manole, Razvan Vasilescu, Ioan Andrei Ionescu, Costina Cheyrouze, Florentina Tilea, Lari Giorgescu, Victoria Dicu, Mihai Calota, Ada Gales, Emilian Marnea, Rodica Ionescu, Cosmina Olariu, Eduard Adam, Florin Calbajos. In the lead roles: Crina Semciuc and Ionut Toader. The scenery bears the signature of Dragos Buhagiar, the costumes were created together with Ioana Smara Popescu, and the choreography belongs to Florin Fieroiu. Show not recommended for children aged under 14. The next performances shall take place on the 10th and 11th October 2018, from 7.30 p.m., in the Studio Hall.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu  

On 24 September and 8 October 2016, two events announcing the new season for children, at NTB! The Empire of Theatre awaits you! The story goes that in the year 6102, the Theatre Emperor shall descend in downtown Bucharest. Together with his cortege, the Emperor shall “rule” the place and transform it into a realm where Theatre will prevail. We thought that we have to wait for a long time. Upon a closer look, we realised that there is a mistake in the wording of the story. We switched the year, looking at it in the mirror and realised that 6102 was in fact 2016. The excitement of the fact that we had no more time to prepare the welcome ceremony made us change our minds and ask the Magician of Stories and his assistants for help. We wrote to him and the answer came quickly: I can, I am a Magician! Then, he got in touch with the Theatre Emperor and thus we could find out about the entire development of the event. On Saturday, 24 September 2016 and Saturday, 8 October 2016, as of 11.00, in the Media Hall, we invite you to two events announcing the opening of the season for the Abracadabra National Theatre for Children. Dear Children, you shall enter the gate of the Empire of Theatre, you shall cross the Enchanted Forest behind the Scenes - where Prince Echo awaits you with a great trial. In order to reach the Stage Empress, you need to get acquainted with the Magician of Movement, but also with Princess Sweet-Talk and Prince Chime. Many surprises await you in the Theatre Empire. Do not forget to come in disguise, as you shall be the protagonists of these events. If the Theatre Emperor cannot be present, we shall elect among you an Emperor and an Empress, which we shall baptise The Curtain. The new season of the National Theatre for Children invites you to become Fairytale Heroes in the Empire of Theatre!   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu 

Ion Caramitru, director of the IL Caragiale National Theatre of Bucharest, received the title of Honorary Doctor of the Academy for Music, Theatre and Fine Arts in Kishinev, at the National Theatre Reunion, which takes place from 19th to 30th September 2018. At the current 4th edition, the National Bucharest presented, on the stage of the Mihai Eminescu National Theatre in Kishinev - organizer of the encounter, the show The Letter after "A Lost Letter" by IL Caragiale, directed by Horatiu Malaele. The Honorary Doctor awarding ceremony took place in the historical hall where, 100 years ago, the Country Council voted the Union of Bessarabia with Romania. A touching event, emphasizes the press beyond the Prut, which took place in front of a theatre hall bursting with theatre lovers, directors, actors, culture people and friends. "It is also touching that this ceremony takes place in the hall where the decision of the Country Council for the Union with the Mother Country was signed - stated Ion Caramitru for Radio Kishinev. I do not think there may be a better time to say once more what is obvious, to say once in the most beautiful Romanian language that we are brothers, to publicly expose our desire to be once again what we have been, and always the same, and that historical accidents only strengthen these feelings, do not destroy them. " The actor and director Ion Caramitru, the director of the National Theatre of Bucharest and the President of the Romanian Theatre Union, is also an Honorary Doctor of the ESRA University of Audiovisual Arts in Skopje (2016), the Ovidius University in Constanta (2012) and the George Enescu University of Arts ", Iasi (2008). The ceremony was concluded by Eminescu's poetry recital Nostalgia for Eminescu, which Ion Caramitru has been performing with clarinetist Aurelian-Octav Popa since January 2012, dialogizing in an unusual stage formula, in which the spoken word is replenished with music, a show based on selections from the great poet's poetry, prose and philosophy manuscripts.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu 

On 24 September and 8 October 2016, two events announcing the new season for children, at NTB! The Empire of Theatre awaits you! The story goes that in the year 6102, the Theatre Emperor shall descend in downtown Bucharest. Together with his cortege, the Emperor shall “rule” the place and transform it into a realm where Theatre will prevail. We thought that we have to wait for a long time. Upon a closer look, we realised that there is a mistake in the wording of the story. We switched the year, looking at it in the mirror and realised that 6102 was in fact 2016. The excitement of the fact that we had no more time to prepare the welcome ceremony made us change our minds and ask the Magician of Stories and his assistants for help. We wrote to him and the answer came quickly: I can, I am a Magician! Then, he got in touch with the Theatre Emperor and thus we could find out about the entire development of the event. On Saturday, 24 September 2016 and Saturday, 8 October 2016, as of 11.00, in the Media Hall, we invite you to two events announcing the opening of the season for the Abracadabra National Theatre for Children. Dear Children, you shall enter the gate of the Empire of Theatre, you shall cross the Enchanted Forest behind the Scenes - where Prince Echo awaits you with a great trial. In order to reach the Stage Empress, you need to get acquainted with the Magician of Movement, but also with Princess Sweet-Talk and Prince Chime. Many surprises await you in the Theatre Empire. Do not forget to come in disguise, as you shall be the protagonists of these events. If the Theatre Emperor cannot be present, we shall elect among you an Emperor and an Empress, which we shall baptise The Curtain. The new season of the National Theatre for Children invites you to become Fairytale Heroes in the Empire of Theatre!   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu 

The 2018-2019 season is the first after the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the "IL Caragiale" National Theatre of Bucharest, which opens its doors by inviting the audience to all 7 halls with a wide range of events, both theatrical, as well as from the "paratheatrical" category. The official premiere of Loose Knit by the American Theresa Rebeck, opens at the Black Box Hall the series of new enactments. Staged within the "Open Doors to Everyone" Programme, Loose Knit is "one of the smartest comedies of manners," as the New York Times called it. A play that is rife with witty, sarcastic and incredibly entertaining dialogues. A show with generous scores, where you shall encounter Irina Cojar, Costina Cheyrouze, Lamia Beligan, Bringsa Mircea, Raluca Petra, Tomi Cristin and Marius Bodochi, in a project coordinated by Ion Caramitru. The next premiere of the season, Romeo and Juliet, in the dramatic vision and direction of Yuri Kordonski, shall take place at the Studio Hall (in a configuration of the arena type) on September 29 and 30, 2018. The show promises a surprise both for spectators who expect a classical enactment of the Shakespearean masterpiece and for the "fans" of the Russian director, who shall discover him in a completely different posture than the one known in the performances so far directed in the Bucharest theatres. Romeo and Juliet are two contemporary lovers, and the show will undoubtedly be an event that all theatre lovers receptive to non-conformist artistic approaches shall appreciate. One of the most spectacular productions of NTB, The Tempest after Shakespeare, directed by Alexander Morfov, with Ion Caramitru in one of the key roles of Shakespearean Dramaturgy - Prospero - can be seen again at NTB's Grand Hall in the spectacular scenography of the Bulgarian Nikola Toromanov. And here, the stage sets are back home after crossing the 12,000-kilometers round trip, and after three performances in Beijing in front of nearly 3,000 spectators, at an International Theatre Festival organized by Beijing People's Art Theatre. In the different stages of preparation, there are two major productions: Nae Caranfil’s Mute parrot, after his own script, a seductive and thrilling text about the most important mission of an almost forgotten spy. The scenography is signed by Dragoş Buhagiar, and the premiere is announced at the Studio Hall in the beginning of this winter. The other enactment, Forest of the Hanged is a stage dramatization of Liviu Rebreanu's famous novel by Radu Afrim, and he shall bring the stage text to the Grand Hall in the scenography by Vanda Sturdza, a project whereby NTB enters the Centenary series of celebrations. At the 4th edition of the Romanian National Theatre Reunion, which takes place in the time frame 19-30 September in Kishinev, the National Theatre of Bucharest shall present on Friday, September 21, 2018, the show The Letter - after "A Lost Letter" by IL Caragiale , directed by Horaţiu Mălăele. Entering the circuit of the NTB's performance halls, the open-air Amphitheatre on the roof, inaugurated in June this year, offers audiences in early autumn and season the opportunity to enjoy a series of concerts held by well-known performers and bands, whose schedule can be found on the NTB website. The first concerts have already been held since September 8 and shall continue until the end of the month, as long as the weather forecast is on our side! The reopening of the exhibition season at NTB was marked by the opening, on September 11, 2018, of a large group exhibition where, in the Rotonda, in the foyer of the Small Hall of NTB, works were exhibited by 19 artists with the specialties of tapestry, printmaking, fashion and textile object under the generic title Textile Arts Days, Bucharest, 2nd edition, 2018. The exhibition shall remain open until October 11, 2018. We are waiting for you in the theatre halls, in the foyers with unusual exhibitions, as well as at the highest level of the building, in the Amphitheatre, at the micro-concert season of September 2018.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu  

The „I.L. Caragiale” National Theatre of Bucharest announces on the days of 14 and 15 September 2018, 7.30 p.m., the premiere of the show Loose Knit with the play of the American Theresa Rebeck, author and screen writer performed successfully on Broadway and highly appreciated at Hollywood, with noteworthy achievements in the production of TV series. Staged within the Programme „Open Doors to Everyone”, Loose Knit is “one of the most intelligent comedies of manners”, according to the New York Times. A play rife with witty, sarcastic and incredibly jocular dialogues. A show with generous scores for the actresses and actors of the National Theatre of Bucharest, where you shall re-encounter Irina Cojar, Costina Cheyrouze, Lamia Beligan, Brânduşa Mircea, Raluca Petra, Tomi Cristin and Marius Bodochi, in a project coordinated by Ion Caramitru. Knitting is not only for old ladies! In Theresa Rebeck’s comedy, five elderly women  meet weekly to knit. But the wool yarn of the ball is not the main plot of the story. This is because each of the five women needs to face challenges raised by life or…men. Among betrayals and disappointments, the characters get to know the therapeutic power of humour and forgiveness. The humour of the play partially conceals a dark picture in which relationships between people develop as difficult as they loosen, like the knitted fabrics which the protagonists of the play intertwine. Theresa Rebeck is a highly enacted American playwright, well-known also in Romania on the occasion of a Romanian-American cultural exchange within the ARTE programme, in 2010. In America, more than 10 of her plays have been performed, the list of theatrical productions including Omnium Gatherum (written in collaboration with Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros), play which reached the final in the Pulitzer Prize contest. New York Times referred to Rebeck as to "one of the significant talents of her generation". The numerous television scripts she wrote include the well-known series NYPD Blue – Cop Life, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, as well as the NBC series - Smash. „I am a woman, an American, a mother, sometimes I write for the television, sometimes I write movie scripts; I play the piano, I knit, I snap at the universe; I am furious, I am sad; I have a fibre of a comical realism, but also a note of misanthropy and idealism. You can classify both me and my work in many ways. But me, personally, I would rather be considered a playwright”. Theresa Rebeck At the Black Box Hall of the National Theatre of Bucharest, a new American comedy awaits you! Tickets have been put up for sale at the NTB box office, as well as online, on www.mystage.ro.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu  

Magic National, the exceptional concert-show of the National Theatre of Bucharest, which concluded the season on the grand stage of the theatre not long ago, continues its international career started last summer once with the participation in the Ohrid Summer Festival in Macedonia, where it sparked applause, praise, and a new invitation, this time at the Nisville Theatre and Jazz Festival (Niš), the third largest city in Serbia. On August 6, 2018, in the Amphitheater on the banks of the Nišava River, the magical tunes of the show, supported by some of NTB's most beloved actors alongside Emy Drăgoi, surnamed in France, the king of accordion jazz, will resonate in the landscape of poetry and History of Niš. Appreciated by the Guardian and the BBC as one of the top 10 European festivals, the Nisville Jazz Festival has a complex structure in which we find an important section of theatre, another one of film, as well as book, poetry and comics. This year, the theatre sectionreunites 16 shows from 4 continents, coming from New Orleans, Shanghai, Marseilles, Cairo, Belgrade and the National Theatre of Bucharest, representing Romania at this Festival of Festivals, South BITEF, as the organizers like to consider it proudly. Besides, Mrs. Maja Mitić, the festival's selection and artistic director, theatre person and renowned university professor in her native country and abroad, recognizes the influences of world stage personalities such as Grotowski, Kantor, Eugenio Barba, Pina Bausch, Bob Wilson, Peter Brook, from whose creation he was inspired and perfected as an artist, watching them on the stage of the prestigious BITEF (Belgrade International Theater Festival). Through the multitude of artistic expressions gathered under the umbrella of the Nisville Theatre and Jazz Festival, as well as through the various ways of approaching the contemporary cultural phenomenon, theatre performances, concerts, films, workshops, debates and round tables, the festival aims at most vivid reactions from the participants and why not, even a change. On the stage of the Niš Amphitheatre, the local audience shall have the opportunity to watch the actors Ion Caramitru, performer and director of the show, Medea Marinescu, Marius Manole, Tania Popa, Istvan Teglas, Anca Sigartău, Lari Giorgescu, Aylin Cadir, Eduard Adam, Florin Calaboy , Emilian Mernea, Petre Ancuta, who are joined for this tour show by the Japanese soprano Ato Kawara. The musical soul of the event shall be, as usual, Emy Drăgoi and his enchanted accordion, seconded on the musical line by 3D Pro'ect and Jazz Hot Club Romania and by the percussionist Lucian Maxim. Also noteworthy is that on the evening of August 7, Emy Drăgoi and his band are invited to perform a separate concert within the jazz festival, on the River Stage. At the end of September, the Magic National shall meet again with the NTB audience in a surprise show. Until then, at the end of August, Caragiale’s Bucharest Festival awaits the inhabitants of Bucharest to a Magic National outdoor, on a stage that shall be located in Cismigiu Park.     Translated by Simona Nichiteanu  

The curtain of the 2017-2018 season has fallen, on a pleasant summer evening, on Sunday 1st July, over the halls of the National Theatre of Bucharest, where the audience could applaud, for one last representation, Magic National in the Grand Hall, Little Hell – in the Studio Hall, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, on the stage of the Painting Hall, Fool for Love at the Black Box Hall and, on the morning of the same day, in the Media Hall, The Magician of Stories, the beloved actor Marian Râlea and his assistants have wished the children Happy holidays through a highly appreciated Summer Carnival. Although already on holiday, the state of febrility, of preparation of the new season, can still be perceived inside the theatre. One of the best internationally acclaimed directors, Yuri Kordonski, who has worked at NTB on a far-reaching show, Heart of a Dog, has returned for a new ambitious project, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, starring Crina Semciuc and Ionuţ Toader in the roles of the famous lovers of universal dramaturgy. An enactment announcing itself one of the most exciting productions of the future season, with a team of first-rate producers, including scenographer Dragoş Buhagiar. The premiere scheduled for the season opening has already had the first encounter with the audience and has reaped the first appreciations. Loose Knit, this being the play of the American Theresa Rebeck, cherished in Romania as well, called by the New York Times „one of the most intelligent comedy of manners”, is a proposal advanced within the programme Open Doors to Everyone, with a masterful stage coordination by Ion Caramitru. Cast in this … knit web executed with special talent and acting nerve, were Irina Cojar, Costina Cheyrouze, Lamia Beligan, Brânduşa Mircea, Raluca Petra, Tomi Cristin, Marius Bodochi. Between humour and tear, the play unveils the flaws of the contemporary interhuman relationships, as difficult to develop, as rapid to loosen. Other famed directors have announced their projects in the Centenary Year at NTB, counting the original script by Radu Afrim, based on a novel by Liviu Rebreanu, Forest of the Hanged, enactment where we shall find alongside the famous characters of the novel, characters who seem to be detached from the yet unwritten chronicle of the year 2018… The project is due for work in autumn, with Alexandru Potocean in the role of Apostol Bologa. A play in 30 tableaus is the proposal of well-known film director Nae Caranfil. The Mute Parrot shall enter rehearsals at the end of September, enactment which shall benefit from the scenography of Dragoş Buhagiar and the choreography of Florin Fieroiu, the cast featuring popular names of the theatre, such as Claudiu Bleonţ, Magda Catone, Alexandru Bindea and many others. Another opportunity of discovering a wonderful cast is also the staging of a tragicomedy, The Rebels by Edna Mazia, translated from Hebrew by Etgard Bitel and bearing the directorial signature of Ion Caramitru. The month of August shall add to the track record of the show Magic National, recently presented at the International Theatre Festival „The Myths of the Citadel”, from Constanţa, further two invitations, the first participation being scheduled for 6th August 2018, at the International Theatre and Jazz Festival of Nishville, Serbia, and the second, at the Caragiale’s Bucharest Festival, 7th edition, event organised by the Bucharest Municipality through the Ion Creangă Theatre, scheduled in the time frame 29 August - 2 September 2018. The selection of the National Theatre Festival (NTF 2018), recently announced, includes two of the most valuable shows of the 2017 - 2018 season at NTB, Exit the King by Eugène Ionesco, directed by Andrei and Andreea Grosu and Titanic Orchestra by Hristo Boicev, directed by Felix Alexa. In the immediately following period, the foyers of the Studio Hall shall remain open, at the audience’s request, for visiting the exhibition of Japanese prints, according to new opening hours - from 12.00 to 8.00 p.m. You are welcome to return to the halls of the National Theatre of Bucharest upon the reopening of schools, in mid-September, and we wish you most pleasant and relaxing holidays, also brightened by the memory of the shows you have witnessed at the National Theatre of Bucharest during this season.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu