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From Romantic Comedy to Contemporary Satire The Romanian Theatre Tour in Bucharest, Iaşi and Kishinev has arrived at its fifth edition, continuing this year, as well. For a start, the "Mihai Eminescu" National Theatre of Kishinev comes with two of the most recent premieres of the theatre, one of these, The Merry Bedlam shall have 3 consecutive premieres, in Kishinev (20th January), in Iaşi (24th January) and in Bucharest (28th January 2018). The first show you can witness at the National Theatre of Bucharest, on 27th January 2018, from 7.30 p.m., in the Studio Hall, is Nameless Star by Mihail Sebastian, directed by Alexandru Cozub, scenography by Iurie Matei. In a pale provincial town, Professor Miroiu shares his life between books and stars. Waiting for an editorial rarity coming by train, his earthly trajectory collides one evening with the one of Mona, young heartbreaker, without ticket, but with a great desire for exploring. Between them, a love story unfolds which, like a cosmic explosion, shakes the universe of the small town to the very foundations.„The show is a mixture of farce, comedy and poetry. The director did not place the focuses on the story itself, but on the miracle which can occur anytime and anywhere on a starry night” (Larisa Ungureanu, theatre critic). The cast comprises some of the best-known actors of the troupe: Ghenadie Gâlcă, Diana Decuseară, Petru Hadârcă, Petru Oistric, Olga Guțu-Cucu, Nicu Suveică, Draga-Dumitrița Drumi, Victor Drumi, Alexandru Pleșca, Mihai Zubcu, Iurie Focșa. The second show is scheduled for 28th January 2018, from 7,30 p.m., in the same Studio Hall: The Merry Bedlam by S.T. Burke, directed by Petru Hadârcă, costumes created by Victoria Moldovanu and musical arrangement conducted by Serghei Racenco and Vadim Buinovschi.          Based on archetypes projected into contemporaneity, the play focuses on people’s refusal to believe in fairy tales and let themselves be fooled - how many times?!- by the leaders of the time. Somewhere, in a citadel facing evil for centuries, nutshell shaken by the waves, strange and apparently nonsensical events are happening: life seemed grey, inebriated, lacking wonders, the majority of inhabitants being resigned to such a state of play. And then, the Leader of the Permanent Revolt, believing himself eternally unchangeable, surrounded by a noisy crowd of advisors and guards, comes up with the idea that in order to gain more love from the masses, there is need for mystery, for a sacrificial Hero…  Against the laws of nature, Wolves ally with Lambs, Goats and the Cabbages are dancing. The Secret Services cannot be absent, who, according to custom, but also upon suggestion of the counsellors abroad, steal the ”noble” idea, casting in the main roles their own actors, eager to keep receiving their pay, crop, allowance… In this precipitated glide towards the final disaster, we increasingly have the sensation that we, the spectators, are the heroes of this apparently unreal story, which enthrals us more and more through the dialogue over time with the author and the characters.… But let us listen to the Author himself, the mysterious S.T. Burke “I have seen the farce with my very eyes. And then I started rewriting it from memory. When I was reproducing this noise of retorts, I was not thinking that I was making theatre. And what good is it, once the farce had already been played? I wanted to part elegantly with some funny gods with whom I have populated, naïve and imprudent, a major part of my life”. The most recent production of the National Theatre of Kishinev, The Merry Bedlam reunites on the stage almost the entire troupe of the theatre. In the cast: Igor Babiac, Iurie Negoiță, Alexandru Pleșca, Petru Oistric, Dan Melnic, Anatol Durbală, Ion Mocanu, Ghenadie Gâlcă, Draga Dumitrița Drumi, Mihaela Strâmbeanu, Doriana Zubcu-Mărginean, Valentin Zorilă, Angela Ciobanu, Silvia Luca, Ana Bunescu, Iurie Focșa, Mihai Zubcu, Nicolae Suveică, Ecaterina Mardari, Cornelia Maros-Suveică, Doriana Mărgineanu, Mihaela Damian-Oistric, Ana Tkacenko, Dina Cocea, Nicolae Darie, Serghei Racenco - conductor, Natalia Racenco - violin, Vadim Buinovschi - violin, Lev Ignatiev - cello. Oscillating between romantic comedy and contemporary satire, the troupe of the Mihai Eminescu National Theatre of Kishinev proposed us once again an elevated theatre lesson made with passion, talent and civic courage! We invite you to applaud them!   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu

Magic National, the NTB show where actors are singing and dancing accompanied by Emy Drăgoi, the king of accordion jazz and his bands, aspires to become Magic ….International! The repertoire chosen by the performers gathers, in an ample stylistic range, cultures and languages from all over the world. The atmosphere gradually inflames, and in the end the audience generously rewards the originality of each performer on stage with applause. Initially thought as a concert dedicated to Holidays, for the winter of 2015, the show has proven qualities which propelled it from one season to the other and even from one country to another. Last summer, Magic National participated with remarkable success in the Ohrid Summer Festival, in Macedonia. Another tour, at the Nisvil Jazz Festival from Serbia is in preparation for the summer of this year. On the evening of 25th January 2018, the actors and musicians composing the Magic National team shall be joined, for a unique representation, by the Japanese soloist Ato Kawara, with three melodies which shall speak directly to the hearts of the spectators. In love with Romania, good speaker of Romanian – adding a fine Transylvanian accent, Ato Kawara is singing in the choir of the Cluj Opera, has recently won a romance contest in Baia Mare, singing Shepherd with 300 Sheep and she is invited by the Embassy of Japan, on a yearly basis, for the celebration of the National Holiday, as a performer of the national anthem. On the NTB Facebook page you can watch Ato Kawara singing our anthem, Awaken, Romanian, performed on the occasion of Ion Caramitru’s decoration with the most important Japanese order dedicated to foreign citizens, the Order of the Rising Sun, which was handed over by His Excellency Mr. Kisaburo Ishii, the Japanese ambassador in Bucharest, through a ceremony held within the framework of the reception organised by the Embassy of Japan on the occasion of the National Holiday on 7th December 2017. Alongside Ion Caramitru, Medeea Marinescu, Marius Manole, Tania Popa, Istvan Teglas, Anca Sigartău, Lari Giorgescu, Aylin Cadîr, Eduard Adam, Florin Călbăjos, Emilian Mârnea, Petre Ancuţa, on the hearty tunes of Emy Drăgoi, 3D Pro`ect, Jazz Hot Club România and Lucian Maxim, the young Japanese artist shall add, in the magic of a winter evening at the National Theatre of Bucharest, a glimpse of the Nippon soul and her admiration for Romania! Japan is on our side! Let us applaud her warmly, in the Grand Hall of NTB, on the evening of 25th January, in the show Magic National!   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu

One of the most successful NTB shows, Little Hell by Mircea Ștefănescu, shall celebrate, on 24th January, 200 representations at the premises, since the premiere in October 2013. A text as topical nowadays, as it was when it was written, in 1948, through the mastery of structure and dialogue, through the humour and irony of retorts, Little Hell is an authentic human comedy. A play where we find out whether the burden of marital yoke is easier to bear and whether the little hell of marriage can turn into Paradise. The longevity of this show is also ensured by a remarkable cast (Ileana Stana Ionescu / Rodica Popescu-Bitănescu, Ilinca Goia, Liviu Lucaci, Marius Rizea, Dragoș Stemate, Daniel Badale, Fulvia Folosea), whose talent director Mircea Cornișteanu has speculated in order to create a first-rate comedy.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu

On Saturday 13th January and Sunday 14th January 2018, the Painting Hall shall host, in preview, the first shows with Orchestra Titanic by Hristo Boicev, directed by Felix Alexa and stage set by Andrada Chiriac, the first premiere of the year 2018 at the “I.L. Caragiale” National Theatre of Bucharest. With this show, NTB continues the concern with the Balkan area, a space so special and dramatically generous, and the director, fine observer of this space invites us, in an exceptional company – the cast giving life on stage, to a story at the border between real and dreamlike. Claudiu Bleonţ, Mihai Constantin, Mihai Călin, Richard Bovnoczki and Tania Popa invite you to an encounter with a play which has enjoyed 30 enactments worldwide. Titanic Orchestra is a philosophical and absurd comedy on the desire to escape into illusion. Felix Alexa creates a universe of a magical realism, also enhanced by the stage set of Andrada Chiriac. "In Titanic Orchestra, four characters in a deserted and destroyed railroad, an image of solitude and failure of each of them, are endlessly rehearsing the possible scenario of deliverance from this pointless existence. They are, actually, rehearsing their own short play, with a predictable ending, entering an illusion which they fuel by „acting”. A „theatre” seen as a possible salvation from the monotony of a failed life, a „theatre” which can give them, even for a short time, the illusion of deliverance. Boicev’s irony becomes however stronger with Harry’s appearance, a magician bringing them the perspective of salvation through an even greater illusion than theatre, a supreme illusion, representing their passage into another dimension, where everything becomes possible. My show speaks about theatre and life, about how we can save ourselves, at least partially, from a frustrating and dull existence, hoping for another dimension created through illusion. An illusion which each of us creates in his intimacy, as a rescuing alternative. And what else is theatre but not an illusion which may sometimes become more real and more intense than reality itself?" states Felix Alexa. Hristo Boicev, the most well-known and enacted Bulgarian playwright, was declared playwright of the year 1989, with 40 enactments throughout Bulgaria, and nowadays he is the most staged author in 40 countries on five continents, multi-awarded in his country and abroad. His most famous plays comprise Bird Colonel (for a female cast, the title is The Colonel and His Birds), Orchestra Titanic, The District Hospital (enacted, in Romania, by Felix Alexa, at the Metropolis Theatre), the monodrama Phenomenon, Underground, That Thing, The Invasion etc. He adapted for the stage the novels Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The official premiere shall take place in the author’s presence and is scheduled for 16th and 17th January 2018, from 8.00 p.m., at the Painting Hall.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu 

  The most important Japanese order dedicated to foreign citizens, namely the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Ribbon has been bestowed by His Excellency, Mr. Kisaburo Ishii, the ambassador of Japan in Bucharest, upon Mr. Ion Caramitru, Director General of the ”I.L. Caragiale” National Theatre, on 7th December 2017, during a ceremony within the reception organized by the Embassy of Japan on the occasion of the National Holiday at the Marriott Hotel of Bucharest, in the presence of countless guests. The Order of the Rising Sun was founded in 1875 (by Emperor Meiji of Japan), after the "Order of the Chrysanthemum" (reserved exclusively for state presidents or members of the royal houses), the second major order granted in Japan. It is, at the same time, the highest Japanese order granted to foreign citizens, awarded for special merits in the area of international relations, of the promotion of Japanese culture or the projects aiming at environmental development and protection. Before the Second World War, it was also bestowed for exceptional military services. The Order of the Rising Sun is conferred in the name of His Majesty, the Emperor of Japan, through the Office of decorations pertaining to the chancellery of Prime Minister Shizo Abe, who signs the Patent of the distinction, bearing the state seal of Japan. The awarding ceremony of the High Order by His Excellency Mr. Ambassador Ishii, was accompanied by a brief presentation by the latter of the merits of Ion Caramitru in the support and development of cultural relations between Romania and Japan. In his acceptance speech, Ion Caramitru evoked a few examples of the tight collaboration with the Japanese theatre and he paid a warm tribute to the exceptional virtues of the Japanese nation, which he qualified as exemplary and worthwhile following. After in 2016, Ion Caramitru has been awarded by the British Council the title of Shakespeare Cultural Ambassador and the distinction of Actor of Europe, the year 2017 concludes for him with yet another international and prestigious acknowledgement, which we would like to share with joy with everyone who appreciates him.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu 

On Tuesday, 5th December 2017, from 5:00 p.m., the Studio Hall of the I.L. Caragiale National Theatre of Bucharest shall host the gala and the project contest dedicated to pupils, 5 High Schools - 5 Theatres, this year at the 7th edition. Five theatre troupes from further five high schools of the capital shall take the NTB stage, in order to perform the plays prepared throughout the project starting with the month of October. ECDL ROMANIA, alongside UNITER, the Mayor’s Office of the Bucharest Municipality and the School Inspectorate of the Bucharest Municipality and the partner theatres, the I.L. Caragiale National Theatre of Bucharest, the Small Theatre, the Ion Creangă Theatre, the Jewish State Theatre and the Metropolis Theatre, are inviting you to applaud the young artists. 5 High Schools - 5 Theatres is an established educational project, supporting the involvement of high school students in cultural activities, through their access to the institutions and theatre plays, challenging them at the same time to a show contest.    Five theatres have opened their season to further 150 pupils from five high schools of the capital, including members of the school theatre troupes. These have witnessed free of charge plays from each of the partner theatres of the project 5 High Schools – 5 Theatres: the I.L. Caragiale National Theatre of Bucharest, the Jewish State Theatre, the Ion Creangă Theatre, the Metropolis Youth Theatre and the Small Theatre. The new schools participating in this edition of 5 High Schools – 5 Theatres are: the Nicolae Iorga Theoretical High School, the George Coşbuc National Bilingual College, the Mihai Eminescu National College, the Octav Onicescu National College and the Tudor Vladimirescu Theoretical High School. This time as well, the teenager troupes have been coordinated by the theatres in staging a short play on the topic of Human Rights. Their endeavour shall be completed on Tuesday, 5th December 2017, with the representations, jury decision and award ceremony of the five theatre plays created by the teenagers, within the 5 High Schools – 5 Theatres Gala. The youngsters shall have the opportunity to climb on the stage of a major Romanian theatre and to perform in front of a jury of professionals, including representatives of the partner theatres and UNITER.   Since the very first edition which started in 2011 at the initiative of the ECDL Foundation of Romania, over 1000 pupils from 30 different Bucharest high schools have taken part in 5 High Schools – 5 Theatres. The 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 certifications, but also understanding the act of culture, as a completion of their knowledge and competences gained in school. You are welcome on Tuesday, 5th December 2017, from 5:00 p.m., to the Studio Hall of the I.L. Caragiale National Theatre of Bucharest.   You can find out more information on the project 5 High Schools - 5 Theatres on www.ecdl.ro . ECDL – European Computer Driving Licence – international standard for the certification of digital competences. For additional information, please contact: Irinuca Văduva, project coordinator Tel.: 0213169922 / e-mail: irinuca.vaduva@ecdl. ro   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu

The I.L. Caragiale National Theatre of Bucharest announces the premiere of the play Exit the King by Eugène Ionesco, a show with great actors, a reference play of contemporary literature, staged by a popular tandem of directors, the young Andrei and Andreea Grosu, founders of Unteatru, which has become one of the most appreciated theatres. Exit the King is an enactment not attempting to amaze through scenery or costumes, but in the first place, a reencounter with an acting couple offering us an artistic feast with each appearance on stage, Mariana Mihuţ and Victor Rebengiuc, joined by Ana Ciontea, Florentina Ţilea, Şerban Pavlu and Richard Bovnoczki, telling us a story in which time is dilated and distances are diminished like magic. The stage design is created by Vladimir Turturica and Chris Jaeger signs the light design of the show. Despite the title, the show is fortified by the lust for life and man’s incapacity to make peace with death. We are living disorderly – with a constant craving for tomorrow, we love desperately, we procrastinate as much as we can, we hurt without feeling, we turn mistakes into experiences and continue to experiment. The show is a praise to this unconsciousness named life. Exit the King, a staging stirring the numbed consciousness of being and putting the soul’s strength to test, in relation to man’s sole certainty, death, in front of which we can choose to believe that we are kings, although we are mere subjects. To the question What is more absurd between life and death?, Ionesco would probably answer: man! Eugène Ionesco was obsessed by the theme of exitus throughout his entire life, ever since childhood. ”Ever since the age of four, when I knew I would die, the anguish has never left me. It is as if I had understood, all of a sudden, that there was nothing left to do to escape it and there was nothing left to do in life (…). I am also writing to express my fear of dying, my humility of dying”, confessed the famous Romanian author. I told myself that you can learn how to die, that you can teach others how to die. This seems to me the essential thing we can do, because we are mortals not accepting the fact of dying‒ motivates playwright Eugène Ionesco the genesis of the play Exit the King. "Mr. Ionesco’s King has enabled one of the most beautiful encounters for us, claim Andrei and Andreea Grosu, the directors of the show. With people we fell in love with, with people we were already in love with and which we shall cherish the way they offered themselves to us, with smiles, fears, joyful, emotional, authentic. The queen leading us, another one trembling, the overwhelmed physician, the powerless guard, the frail maid and a dying king. We learn from them the art of dying. It is a story with kings and queens, with clouds and trees growing out of floors, great inventors, fears, family, but especially with and about love". The official premiere is scheduled for 28th November 2017, from 7.30 p.m., in the Grand Hall. The next representation shall take place on 17th December 2017. Tickets can be purchased at the NTB Box Office, from the Grand Hall foyer, as well as online, on www.mystage.ro.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu 

As from November 2017, we expect you to the Black Box Hall of the I.L. Caragiale National Theatre of Bucharest with an artistic feast, Vivien Leigh: The Last Press Conference. A powerful, dynamic and troubling show about the exceptional destiny of one of the greatest British actresses of all times. Surnamed „Viv, the world’s darling”, she was the unforgettable Scarlet from „Gone with the Wind”, the heart-rending Blanche Dubois from „A Streetcar Named Desire” and the passionate lover, ready to risk everything in order to conquer Laurence Olivier, the one who would become her spouse and with whom she formed the royal couple of English theatre. Lamia Beligan impersonates Vivien Leigh with dramatic intensity, humour and irresistible charm, in a one woman show you shall not be able to forget. The NTB premiere is scheduled for Thursday, 23rd November 2017, 8.00 p.m., in the Black Box Hall. The following representations: 2nd and 8th December 2017, from 8.00 p.m.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu 

  The National Theatre of Bucharest is expecting you on Saturday, 18th November and Sunday 19th November 2017, at 7.30 p.m., in the Grand Hall, to the first representations of the show Exit the King by Eugène Ionesco, a show with great actors, a reference play of contemporary literature, staged by a popular tandem of directors, the young Andrei and Andreea Grosu, founders of Unteatru, which has become one of the most appreciated theatres. Exit the King is an enactment not attempting to amaze through scenery or costumes, but in the first place, a reencounter with an acting couple offering us an artistic feast with each appearance on stage, Mariana Mihuţ and Victor Rebengiuc, joined by Ana Ciontea, Florentina Ţilea, Şerban Pavlu and Richard Bovnoczki, telling us a story in which time is dilated and distances are diminished like magic. Eugène Ionesco was obsessed by the theme of exitus throughout his entire life, ever since childhood. ”I told myself that you can learn how to die, that you can teach others how to die. This seems to me the essential thing we can do, because we are mortals not accepting the fact of dying ‒ motivates playwright Eugène Ionesco the birth of the play Exit the King. "Mr. Ionesco’s King has enabled one of the most beautiful encounters for us, claim Andrei and Andreea Grosu, the directors of the show. With people we fell in love with, with people we were already in love with and which we shall cherish the way they offered themselves to us, with smiles, fears, joyful, emotional, authentic. The queen leading us, another one trembling, the overwhelmed physician, the powerless guard, the frail maid and a dying king. We learn from them the art of dying. It is a story with kings and queens, with clouds and trees growing out of floors, great inventors, fears, family, but especially with and about love". The next representation is scheduled for 28th November 2017.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu  

  On the Grand Stage of NTB, The Cherry Orchard, a family chronicle told with heartbreaking humour The I.L. Caragiale National Theatre of Bucharest announces the premiere of the show The Cherry Orchard by A.P. Chekhov, directed by David Doiashvili, which celebrated its international premiere within the 2017 edition of the Tbilisi International Theatre Festival. On Saturday, 11th November and Sunday 12th November 2017, from 7.00 p.m., we invite you on the stage of the Grand Hall to a new version of the well-known Chekhovian play: the Georgian director – at his second collaboration with NTB after the impressive King Lear from the previous season – proposes a spectacular baroque structure, an expansive cocktail of humour, passion, music, the despair of living and not knowing how, a permanent need to change and not knowing what, in pursuit of a new theatrical truth, of poetic cruelty. With this play, Chekhov has innovated performing arts, proposing the technique of „indirect plot” – where the major events happen outside the stage and we are witnesses to the characters’ reactions to what is happening. And the eclectic Georgian director David Doiashvili has captured this very convention of „witnesses in action” – from the way the seat rows are arranged on the stage of the Grand Hall, to the plastic composition of space and the architecture of lights, everything is built for the spectators to look through a window corner into the house and the souls of these people, more or less prepared to catch up with time. For the main parts from The Cherry Orchard, Doiashvili opted for Monica Davidescu and Irina Movilă (performing the role of Ranevskaia alternatively), Ioan Andrei Ionescu for Lopahin, and Mihai Constantin is the memorable Firs, the one forgotten by everyone whom he served with loyalty for a lifetime. The other parts, equally well-rounded from a temperamental and artistic viewpoint, are performed by: Crina Semciuc, Raluca Aprodu, Gavril Pătru, Rareş Andrici, Vitalie Bichir, Istvan Teglas, Idris Clate, Ana Covalciuc, Silviu Mircescu. The music of the show is composed by the director’s steadfast collaborator, renowned musician Nikoloz Rachveli Memanishvili, the ingenious and poetic stage design is signed, in collaboration, by Tamara Kvesitadze (Georgia) and Gabi Albu, while the choreography belongs to artist Florin Fieroiu. „This show is not allowed to be a melodrama, specifies director David Doiashvili, it must only open our eyes to some truths: there are moments when you believe you are young, you have the strength to move mountains, but you realize that you have grown old, that nobody needs you any longer. Then you understand that you had your life in your hands, but that, imperceptibly, you have stayed on the other side of time, outside the times you inhabit and you are no longer useful to anyone. Therefore, let us laugh!” Do not miss this Orchard, you shall discover unsuspected characters, situations and meanings, even if the play is for you one of the most well-known creations of world literature. The next representations are scheduled for the days of 8th and 9th December 2017, from 7.00 p.m.   Translated by Simona Nichiteanu