“Hot” critical questions in the NTF

Extinction or transformation? What will become of theater criticism at the moment of changes? On the one hand, the space and time for its specific manifestation have been drastically reduced, printing has been supplanted by the internet, and culture by sensationalism. On the other hand, the number of “commentators” from outside theater (writing online on their blogs or on Facebook) has risen, as did the importance of their opinions among viewer-readers and artists. What are the remaining status and role of the theater critic?

The participants in the international conference organized jointly by the National Theater Festival and IATC (The International Association of Theater Critics), under the aegis of the Romanian section of IATC, will attempt to answer these / and other / questions. Open to everyone, the event entitled Theater Critics/Criticism / Extinction or Transformation? is scheduled for Friday, 1 November, at 14:30, in Bucharest National Theater’s Multimedia Hall. The hosts / or emcees of the debate, depending on the case: the critics Yun-Cheol Kim, president of IATC, Margareta Sörenson, vice-president of IATC, and Alice Georgescu, president of the Romanian section of IATC. Guests: theater critics from Austria, Canada, China, South Korea, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, UK, Republic of Moldova, Poland, Serbia, USA, Sweden and, of course, Romania.

The event will be followed by another “hot” issue / worldwide, and beyond the area of theater theory: who was the real Shakespeare? The presentation about the real identity of the greatest playwright of all times will be made by Prof. Michel Vaïs, secretary general of IATC.

The seminar for young critics organized by IATC in Bucharest in the National Theater Festival also has massive international participation. Professionals between 18 and 35 from Bulgaria, Canada, The Czech Republic, South Korea, France, UK, New Zealand, Republic of Moldova, Russia, Slovenia and / again / Romania are trained for the future by two experienced theater critics: Jean-Pierre Han (France) and Mark Brown (Scotland, UK), members of the executive committee of IATC.

An important event in the calendar of theatrical life, the NTF is again proud to host the awarding of a prize given by the International Association of Theater Critics. As in previous years, the jury, made up of three IATC members / Monica Andronescu (Romania), Ivan Medenica (Serbia), and Michel Vaïs (Canada) / will judge the shows in the section Theater of tomorrow. The winner will be announced on Sunday, 3 November, during the closing ceremony of the festival, scheduled at Odeon Theater after the last show in the festival, Adam and Eve, around 21:45.

But there is still some way to go till the end of the festival: beautiful days of theater in a summerlike Bucharest. Let us enjoy them!