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On December 5, 2023, in the Council Hall of the Writers' Union of Bucharest, took place the annual awards ceremony of the Writers' Union of Bucharest - Playwriting Branch, presented by Mrs. Lucia Verona, President of the Branch. The beloved actor of the "I.L. Caragiale" National Theatre in Bucharest, Gavril Patru received the "Marin Sorescu" Award for the Debut Book of the Year 2022 for the volume "...Oltenesti and A Bad Play", a volume which includes the play "Moroiul si Papadia", as well as other stories in the chapters entitled "Nea Stelu" and "Petrisor". For those who follow Giani on Facebook, his writing interests come as no surprise, as the actor has written numerous texts that have made their way into the public space via this very dynamic social media tool! In the same context, the well-known actress Olga Delia Mateescu was awarded the "Dumitru Solomon" Award for the Book of the Year 2022 for her book "Arde castanul" published by Palimpsest Publishing House. Actress of the Bucharest National Ballet between 1973 and 2007, Olga Delia Mateescu has since established herself in drama, being one of the most appreciated dramatic writers, with numerous publications, awarded with prestigious prizes, to which is added - of course not the last one! The Opera Omnia Award went to playwright Radu F. Alexandru. His play Gertrude, recently staged at the NTB by director Silviu Purcarete, is enjoying remarkable success, being one of the reference titles of the current season.   Translated by Andreea Codrea-Boeriu 

The "I.L. Caragiale" National Theatre in Bucharest celebrates, in 2023, 50 years of activity in the place where it still operates today, at the kilometer zero of the capital. On December 21, 1973, the new building of the National Theatre was inaugurated, with three performance halls: Sala Mare, Sala Mica and Sala Atelier. The initial project, started in 1964 and completed in 1973, was signed by architects Horia Maicu, Romeo Belea and Nicolae Cucu, and the structure was designed by engineer Alexandru Cismigiu. The "I.L.Caragiale" National Theatre in Bucharest wants this anniversary to be another occasion for the public to celebrate during the winter holidays. The campaign "50 years in the heart of Romania" will bring everyone news and images from the history of the National Theatre in Bucharest, throughout the remaining period until the end of the year. December 1st, Romania's National Day, will be the first moment of great celebration of the National Theatre and will be marked, as every year, by a series of cultural events dedicated to the public. The "I.L. Caragiale" National Theatre in Bucharest will be open to the public all day long. Our program will include a matinee performance, from 11.00 am, of the show Once upon a time in Romania, directed by Dragos Huluba, "an entertaining, provocative, humor-filled and nostalgic show about who we were in the last 100 years. What we thought, what we dreamed, what love, laughter and pain were like. A string of colorful theatrical and black and white slides depicting images from the lives of people in the world then and now, and perhaps an answer to the questions of the youngest among us." Public access will be free of charge, subject to availability at the Sala Pictura of the NTB. In the evening, starting at 7 pm, at the Studio Hall will play The Door mat by Ion Baiesu, a performance recommended by Mircea Cornisteanu who also signs the direction of the performance seen as "A comedy about us, published 40 years ago, but written as if today. A mirror in which we look at ourselves and laugh ourselves to death, as if we weren't the ones looking at ourselves".  Also on this day, between 12. noon and 6.00 pm, the Museum of the National Theatre of Bucharest will be open to visitors and the public will have free access to the "Innovative exhibition with restored cultural goods from the collection of the NTB Museum", created in the framework of the project of the same name, funded by EEA Grants 2014-2021 under the RO-CULTURE Program. The exhibition includes stage costumes and objects that belonged to great actors from the history of Romanian theatre, restored within the project. The first exhibition organized in the space specially reserved for the National Theatre Museum in its current premises was inaugurated on March 27, 2023, on the occasion of the World Theatre Day. The exhibition is complemented by innovative digital, visual and auditory elements, with a dress with train that belonged to Queen Mary of Romania at its center.  The concept that led to the creation of the exhibition "Queen Mary at the Theatre" aims to highlight important moments and personalities in the history of Romania. The exhibition halls of the National Theatre host the following exhibitions in December: In the Foyer of the Media Hall (wing facing N. Balcescu Boulevard) is exhibited, under the title Young Talents at NTB, a collection of works by the scholarship holders of the Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation, edition 2023. Fifteen young visual artists mark the end of the scholarship year with this large exhibition that will be open to the public throughout December. Recognized four times as the best Art and Culture program in Romania at the Civil Society Gala, the national Young Talents program creates equal opportunities for aspiring artists, giving them the chance to develop their potential, express their talent and fulfill their dream, regardless of their social background. Recently, the famous singer-songwriter and composer Nicu Alifantis celebrated 50 years of activity. A jubilee exhibition entitled Memorabilia - which will present posters, photographs, instruments, costumes and stage objects from all these years of activity that the artist has given to the performing arts - will open in the Rotonda foyer of the Small Hall of the TNB, on the eve of Romania's National Day. The exhibition will remain open for viewing throughout December. The public can also enjoy, on the occasion of Romania's National Day, the famous Guided Tours of the NTB, according to the following schedule: at 11 am, 1 pm, 3 pm, 5 pm. Participation will be free of charge, based on registration at the theatre's ticket office and online. Guided Tours will take participants backstage, through the sets and costumes, to the actors' dressing rooms. The guide, who will reveal to visitors some of the secrets of the largest theatre in Europe, Ionut Corpaci, will complete the experience with stories from the history of the National Theatre, which celebrates its 173rd anniversary this year, 50 years of which in the very heart of Romania, at the zero kilometer of Bucharest. The festive atmosphere will be completed by a luminous projection of the national flag on the 38.5 meters high tower of the National Theatre stage, which will be visible at various points in the center of the capital.   Translated by Andreea Codrea-Boeriu 

Actress Oana Pellea makes her directorial debut in Lena Constante's Silent Escape, and is also the performer in a disturbing performance that will have its official premiere on November 18, 2023, at the Atelier Hall of the National Theatre in Bucharest. A profound story about human resistance to the oppression of the communist regime in Romania, Lena Constante's book is the basis of a performance in which the great actress Oana Pellea (who also wrote the dramatization of the text) follows the life of the protagonist, a strong and independent woman who faces the difficulties and limitations imposed by the political system of the time. In "Silent Escape", the actress captures the character's inner struggle to find a way out of a harsh and rigid reality, highlighting the undeniable power of the human spirit to resist and seek inner freedom, even in the darkest moments. "Through a dramatization you can't 'play out' a human life! I find it indecent. That's why I want the performance "Silent Escape" to be a confession and not a play. My goal is not an acting performance, but a human experience shared with the audience! I desire that the text and the experience of a human phenomenon named Lena Constante reach the audience", says actress Oana Pellea. The actress confesses that for her it is "a duty of honor to share this life lesson with the public: how you can escape from the hell of living by plunging into the heaven within you! I invite you to a confession. The biggest disappointment for me would be: 'you have performed well'. I don't want to 'perform'. I don't want to be an actress in this play. I just want to humbly share with you the experience of this exceptional Spirit. That's all." Lena Constante was born on June 18, 1909. She studied at the School of Fine Arts in Bucharest, with Dimitrie Gusti as her teacher. It was during this period that she also met her future husband, the ethnomusicologist Harry Brauner. She was a well-known artist for her original tapestry works and for her folkloristic activity. In 1954 she founded the "Tandarica" Theatre with Elena Patrascanu, wife of the Minister of Justice at the time, Lucretiu Patrascanu, which led to her and Harry Brauner's arrest and sentencing to 12 years in prison. She was released in 1962 and in 1968, on retrial, both were found not guilty. Although a member of the Union of Fine Artists, Lena Constante was unable to exhibit her work for political reasons. On November 2, 2005 she departed this world. The performance "Silent Escape" will have its official premiere on November 18, 2023, at 7 p.m., at the Atelier Hall of the "I.L. Caragiale" National Theatre Bucharest. The set design is by Vladimir Turturica. On the occasion of this premiere, Humanitas Publishing House will reprint the two volumes, "Silent Escape" and "Impossible Escape", available to the public at the event. The performance is made possible with the support of Banca Transilvania.   Translated by Andreea Codrea-Boeriu 

The performance Histrionics, directed by Alexandru Dabija, will inaugurate the XIII-th edition of the "Toma Caragiu" International Theatre Festival, which will take place in Ploiesti from 7 to 12 November 2023. "Histrionics", a play by one of the most important playwrights, the Austrian Thomas Bernhard, with Marcel Iures in the lead part, is a caustic look at our petty and tragicomic lives. As Bruscon, Marcel Iures gives life to a splendid buffoon in search of the absolute in art. Actor and a megalomaniac, misanthropic, hypochondriac, nihilistic and intemperate author and director, Bruscon bursts into tirades against the mediocrity of his country, rants about everything from politics, society and the theatre, rages against the conditions that he is offered because nothing and no one can live up to his artistic ambitions, especially his family, with whom he behaves tyrannically. The characters who support him (played by Alexandru Bindea, Ana Ciontea, Alexandra Salceanu, Lucian Iftime / Conrad Mericoffer, Afrodita Androne, Victoria Dicu / Rodica Ionescu) are grotesque, almost caricatural, often ridiculous, endowed with the ability to arouse feelings of rejection and hilarity in the audience, but behind the caricature hides the pessimism of the writer Thomas Bernhard, convinced that this humanity has no chance of salvation. The tickets for the performance at the "Toma Caragiu" International Theatre Festival were sold out in a short time, so spectators wishing to see this performance will be able to do this on November 23 and 24, 2023, when "Histrionics" returns to the Studio Hall of the National Theatre in Bucharest. Translated by Andreea Codrea-Boeriu  Photo credit Florin Ghioca

Director Silviu Purcarete returns to the "I.L. Caragiale" National Theatre, after 11 years, together with his faithful team of collaborators - Dragos Buhagiar - scenography, Vasile Sirli - music, presenting the first ever production of "Gertrude" by Radu F. Alexandru. Attracted by the original idea of the play that illuminates new meanings of the tragedy of Hamlet, the prestigious director Silviu Purcarete, author of famous productions of Shakespeare's plays, accepts the new challenge and appreciates the text as "an impressive and moving piece of writing", "an extremely cynical exegesis of the myth", as he said in an interview this summer. Adding that he has never staged the great Will's famous play, he explains: "Hamlet is an enigma that I'm not saying I don't know how to solve, but I don't know how to penetrate it, through which door I should enter to find out what's there" (Silviu Purcarete, in the same interview recorded by Horia Ghibutiu for Rock FM). Through an almost cinematic cut and with purely theatrical means, in a minimalist setting, with the air of a psychological thriller, the production hides and reveals the reality, the dream but also the nightmare, the ineffable... From the perspective of playwright Radu F. Alexandru, the rewriting of the story of the enigmatic Danish prince Hamlet dispels many of the uncertainties of Shakespeare's play, giving the famous characters unsuspected meanings and valences. In Gertrude, the Queen-Mother, the bearer of the ultimate blame, becomes the diabolical mind behind a scenario of adultery, lies, murder and power. Painful questions lurk behind constantly moving walls... Who is the King's killer? Does he deserve punishment or forgiveness? Did the father kill the father? - are some of the questions that seek answers in an action where suspicious motives and moments of suspense intertwine. The author does not shy away from Shakespearean questioning, showing us the young Hamlet - with all his anguish - relentlessly searching for the truth. Critic Razvan Voncu calls the play "a masterpiece", considering it "one of the most daring lines given to 'Great Will' in universal dramatic literature". "In fact, it is a real battlefield, where there are no victims, because Shakespeare proposes a win-win relationship: any new interpretation can offer, as with the example we have chosen, an alert intellectual recital, based on a different narrative logic than the one already known - comments Pia Brinzeu in the essay " Hamlet differently", in Romania Literara magazine. For if you are intrigued by the mysteries of the Danish king's death, you have to try to solve them differently than Shakespeare did this "big-time". And set off with someone. Gertrude, for instance." The cast proposed by Purcarete, who opted for the "all male cast" formula, in which all the roles are played by male actors, is also surprising: Claudiu Bleont (Gertrude), Mircea Rusu (Claudius), Marius Manole (Hamlet), Alexandru Potocean (Horatio), Marius Bodochi (The Spirit), Paul Chiributa - actor at the "Toma Caragiu" Theatre Ploiesti (Polonius) and Lari Giorgescu (Ofelia). The choreography is signed by Florin Fieroiu. The first performances of Gertrude will take place on October 28, 2023, 7:00 pm (preview) and October 29, 2023, 7:00 pm (premiere) at Studio Hall. The next performances are scheduled for November 9 and 22, 2023, at 7pm.   Translated by Andreea Codrea-Boeriu 

The premiere that inaugurated, a decade ago, the new Pictura Hall of the "I.L. Caragiale" National Theatre in Bucharest, The Little Hell by Mircea Stefanescu, celebrates, with the performance on October 4, 2023, 10 years of uninterrupted performances, with a success confirmed by the open applause that accompanies each performance. A true human comedy, Little Hell has been a real success over the years. A text as topical today as when it was written in 1948, through the mastery of its construction and dialogue, through the fun and irony of its lines, Little Hell is a true human comedy, in which Mircea Stefanescu follows with discreet humor the theme of a couple caught up in the "little hell" of marriage over four decades, showing in the end that it can also turn into Paradise.... The text gives the actors some tasty comic parts. The picturesque character of the play is the harsh and grumpy Mother-in-law, a role played in the original cast by Ileana Stana Ionescu, with her unparalleled verve, and in which Rodica Popescu Bitanescu shines today, with nothing less than her forerunner - both actresses offering an unforgettable acting delight. Directed by Mircea Cornisteanu and set design by Clara Labancz, the version of Little Hell at NTB offers a "lively, exhilarating, witty performance, which stands out through its picturesque atmosphere (a comic permeable to emotion), through its modern-ironic fruition (...) and which conquers through rhythm, cadence, scenic effects. As usual, inspired, Cornisteanu has selected and welded with mastery an excellent team, which gives energetic relief to the situations and ideal brilliance to the "badinage" - appreciated the theatre critic Natalia Stancu at the time of the premiere. On this special evening, some of the most appreciated actors of the NTB theatre company will perform at the Studio Hall: Rodica Popescu-Bitanescu, Ilinca Goia, Liviu Lucaci, Marius Rizea, Dragos Stemate, Daniel Badale, Fulvia Folosea, in order to convince you, once again, of the topicality and flavor of Mircea Stefanescu's play. The last available tickets can be purchased at the NTB box office and online at tnb.ro   Translated by Andreea Codrea-Boeriu 

The "I.L. Caragiale" National Theatre in Bucharest announces the premiere of The Magistrate by Arthur Wing Pinero, which will take place on Sunday, October 1, 2023, at 7 pm, at the "Ion Caramitru" Hall. The director of the performance, Dan Tudor, who is "always looking for a good comedy, a farce with a solid construction, with lively dialogues, with relationships that create tension", as he himself declares, has found the right play to delight us with a burlesque comic fantasy, overflowing with bold colors and energy, with many funny moments and amazing gags. "Everything at full intensity, nothing conventional but alive, for that is the 'secret' of the cast's performance. Artist friends who look for the exact steps in meeting the audience, in a controlled emotion, in a sure outline; and I help them, and simplify, and complicate... and, in the end, they decide", says Dan Tudor about his role in the development of the new production of the play by the most refined farceur of the Victorian British theatre. Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (1855-1934), a celebrated creator of salon comedies savored by the general public, was often compared to the French boulevardiers for his fine satire of the morals of the British society in the late 19th century. For three decades, he was London's most prolific (50 plays!) and most performed playwright. History records him as one of the most important British playwrights of the first decade of the 20th century. A discreet observer of people and their reactions at critical moments, even while practicing law with his father - a magistrate by profession - Pinero puts down on paper subjects that focus on women and the world of magistrates. With new and old formulas, cascading gags reminiscent of the silent film masters, Arthur W. Pinero's comedy proves its freshness also through its current staging, supported by a cast that is up to the task: Dan Puric, Monica Davidescu, Irina Cojar, Ionuț Toader, Dan Tudor, Marius Rizea, Dragoş Ionescu, Tomi Cristin, Mihai Muntenita, Fulvia Folosea, Afrodita Androne, Marcelo-S. Cobzariu, Daniel Badale, Andrei Duban, Oana Constantinescu, Axel Moustache, Vlad Vilciu, Adrian Dima, Ionuț Gurgu. Alongside director Dan Tudor (who also wrote the adaptation, original music and musical illustration) were two other renowned artists: Andrada Chiriac - set design and Florin Fieroiu - choreography. The first two performances of the new season of "The Magistrate" take place on September 30 and October 1, 2023 (official premiere) at 7 pm. Last seats available at the Theatre Box Office and online at www.tnb.ro.   Translated by Andreea Codrea-Boeriu 

The "I.L. Caragiale" National Theatre in Bucharest participates in the 8th edition of the Meeting of Romanian National Theatres in Khishinev (14 - 24 September 2023) with two important performances from its repertoire: Histrionics directed by Alexandru Dabija and The Welkin, directed by Gelu Colceag. This year's event will take place under the title So Close and will feature no less than 50 events, from performances to photography exhibitions and from lectures on the art of theatre to preview auditions of radio performances. There will be no shortage of outdoor performances and book exhibitions. This year's guest of honor is the Ivan Franko National Theatre in Kiev with the performance of The Witch of Konotop after Hryhorii Kvitka-Osnovianenko. The National Theatre of Bucharest participates in this edition with two important performances from its repertoire: "Histrionics" will bring actor Marcel Iureș to the Moldovan audience for the first time at this event, the performance directed by Alexandru Dabija having already participated in numerous festivals and tours (Theatre Olympics Festival in Hungary - May 2023, Sibiu International Theatre Festival 2023, Constanta, Iasi, Brasov and Craiova). Lucy Kirkwood's "The Welkin" boasts a unique cast of no less than 14 NTB actresses flanked by three actors in a story "about justice and life-and-death decisions, about laws and seedlings to be weeded, about rights and children to be given teeth, about divinity and healing ointments." The National's top actresses are Tania Popa, Magda Catone, Ana Ciontea, Ilinca Goia, Medeea Marinescu, Mirela Oprisor, Lamia Beligan, Erika Baiesu, Carmen Ungureanu, Raluca Petra, Rodica Ionescu, Brandusa Mircea and the younger Aylin Cadir / Alexandra Salceanu. The two performances will take place on September 22 and 23, 2023, at the "Mihai Eminescu" National Theatre, and tickets are already on sale. On September 14, 2023, at the opening of the Meeting of National Theatres in Chisinau, on the stage in front of TNME will be presented the multimedia exhibition (R)Evolution of Paintings, a NTB project in partnership with the National Art Museum of Romania, presented for the first time during the pandemic and realized by photographer Florin Ghioca. There are 11 actors telling the stories of paintings shot and badly damaged during the 1989 Revolution and then restored over several years. The viewers can learn the stories of these works of art by scanning the QR codes printed on the photos. The NTB actors who became the "voices" of the paintings are Ion Caramitru, Mircea Rusu, Amalia Ciolan, Emilia Popescu, Monica Davidescu, Ileana Olteanu, Cosmina Olariu, Daniel Badale, Richard Bovnoczki, Alexandru Potocean and Lari Giorgescu. For the third consecutive year, the Meeting of Romanian National Theatres in Chisinau enjoys the privilege of the High Presidential Patronage, granted by the President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, and the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis. The festival is organized with the support of the Ministries of Culture of the Republic of Moldova and Romania, the Romanian Cultural Institute and the Romanian Cultural Institute "Mihai Eminescu", Chisinau, the Swiss Cooperation Office and aims to unite people from the Republic of Moldova and Romania around a Romanian cultural platform of creativity and independent thinking, where hope and confidence in the values of the free and democratic world are disseminated, where sustainable models of managing the national cultural heritage are learned and developed, where a friendly cultural ecosystem accessible to everyone is built step by step.   Translated by Andreea Codrea-Boeriu 

After a record-breaking season, which counted no less than 18 premieres, the "I.L. Caragiale" National Theatre opens its new season on September 17, 2023, with projects supported by directors whose presence was long awaited by the NTB Company. Tompa Gabor started rehearsals with the play "Tango" by Slawomir Mrozek (assisted by Andrei Both, sets and costumes by Angela Balogh-Calin), with a brilliant team of actors including Rodica Negrea, Emilia Popescu, George Ivascu, Mihai Constantin, Emilian Oprea, Catalina Mihai, Maruca Baiasu, Matei Constantin. The premiere is scheduled for mid-October. Silviu Purcarete returns to NTB after eleven years, together with his faithful team of collaborators (Dragos Buhagiar - scenography, Vasile Sirli - music), to stage, in an absolute premiere, Radu F. Alexandru's play "Gertrude", "one of the most daring lines given to 'the great Will' in universal dramatic literature" (according to Razvan Voncu). The director opted for a cast composed exclusively of male actors (Claudiu Bleont, Mircea Rusu, Marius Manole, Alexandru Potocean, Marius Bodochi, Paul Chiributa and Lari Giorgescu), and the premiere scheduled for the end of October is probably one of the most awaited of this season. Two important titles from the great universal drama are also in the process of being developed, which in turn herald the promise of successful performances. Director Gelu Colceag has begun rehearsals for Bertolt Brecht's "The Threepenny Opera" (set design by Liliana Cenean and Stefan Caragiu, choreography and stage movement by Roxana Colceag), a well-known musical that will showcase not only the acting skills but also the vocal and physical abilities of a formidable cast of actors, accompanied by a live orchestra: Marius Manole (as Mackie Sis), Mircea Rusu (as Mr. Peachum) and, in order of cast, Silviu Biris, Tania Popa, Aylin Cadir / Teodora Calagiu, Medeea Marinescu, Emilia Popescu / Raluca Aprodu, Rares Florin Stoica, Ovidiu Cuncea, Alexandru Georgescu, Mihai Verbitchi, Orodel Olaru, Silviu Mircescu, Mihai Muntenita, Daniel Hara. In November, at the Atelier Hall, the premiere of Henrik Ibsen's "Nora" directed by Chris Simion-Mercurian, with Irina Movila in the title role, alongside Ioan Andrei Ionescu, Serban Pavlu, Tania Popa and Conrad Mericoffer. Set design will be by Maria Miu and choreography by Ioana Marchidan. The show will be produced in partnership with the "Grivita 53" Association - "I.L. Caragiale" National Theatre. Some of the performances that were released at the end of the previous season will be revived in the first days of the new season: Arthur Wing Pinero's comic burlesque fantasy "The Magistrate", directed by Dan Tudor at the Ion Caramitru Hall, will have its official premiere on 1 October 2023, and Oana Pellea's disturbing confessional performance "Silent Escape", "based on the text and experience of a human phenomenon by the name of Lena Constante", will be available to share with the actress in the Atelier Hall from 28 September 2023. The "I.L. Caragiale" National Theatre in Bucharest has been invited again this year to the Meeting of Romanian National Theatres in Chisinau (8th edition, which will take place under the title "So close"), where it will present, on September 22 and 23, 2023, two new performances from the NTB's current repertoire: "Histrionics" by Thomas Bernhard, directed by Alexandru Dabija and "The Welkin" by Lucy Kirkwood, directed by Gelu Colceag. The Ion Sava Creation and Research Centre of NTB will continue to organize workshops with personalities of the theatre world. Thus, from September 15 to October 15, 2023, a theatre directing workshop led by director Silviu Purcarete will take place, whose theme will consist of a studio/workshop on Scene II, Act I of William Shakespeare's play "Richard III". The workshop is aimed at professional directors (theatre directing studies, bachelor's or master's degree). It also continues with a new phase, the documentary theatre workshop, led by director David Schwartz, on the theme of Personal Development Practices. The workshop, which began in March with the research phase, is structured over a one-year period and will culminate in a performance in spring 2024, based on a script developed by the renowned director. The season of exhibitions hosted in the NTB foyer also gets reopened, with the premiere presentation of the costume and set sketches of Vasile Velisaratu (1895 - 1978), former painter and set designer of the National Theatre of Bucharest, a necessary restitution effort thanks to the artist's granddaughter, the graphic artist Liana Axinte and the heirs. The schedule of NTB performances can be found on the theatre's website, www.tnb.ro Tickets can be purchased both online and at the recently reopened Ticket Office. In response to the requests received from the audience, the National Theatre has unified the starting time of the performances, scheduled from now on (with rare exceptions) at 7 pm.   Translated by Andreea Codrea-Boeriu 

  The performance Exile, directed by Alexandra Badea, in the official selection of the 35th edition of the National Theatre Festival – NTF 2023! In Exile, "Alexandra Badea draws the traces of some disturbing political events in the present of those seeking an emotional reconciliation with the past. Probing the extremely sensitive theme of belonging, theatrically constructing intertwining temporal planes, Exile is a performance-interrogation on the confrontations between macro-history and personal histories weakened by inherited silences, ruptures with visible wounds, removals and returns to places that still hurt, memories of women who carry with them traumas in search of healing words", says the UNITER text. The NTF curators' argument The curatorial team of NTF 2023 (Mihaela Michailov, Oana Cristea Grigorescu and Calin Ciobotari), following the screening of more than 150 performances premiering in the theatrical year 2022 - 2023, in state and independent theatres, opted for a series of productions they considered relevant to this year's theme: NTF, laboratories of the sensitive. The general principles that have guided our choices are:- the quality of artistic research of the performance- the atmosphere of a theatre laboratory- the potential for growth- representativeness- ethical component- the interests of the audience The National Theatre Festival is produced by UNITER Association - The Romanian Theatre Union. Co-producer: Bucharest City Hall through ARCUB - Cultural Centre of Bucharest. NTF is a cultural project funded by the Ministry of Culture. Partner: Romanian Cultural Institute. Co-producer: Romanian Television. Traditional partner: Radio Romania. More details can be found on the official website of the Festival - www.fnt.ro   Translated by Andreea Codrea-Boeriu