NTF curtain fall

Last night, during the closing ceremony of the 23^rd edition of the National Theater Festival, the International Association of Theater Critics awarded the Theater of tomorrow prize to the show directed by Andrei and Andreea Grosu: A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, a production of UNTEATRU Bucharest, featuring: Florina Gleznea, Nicoleta Lefter, Liviu Pintileasa, Richard Bovnoczki, with a set design by Vladimir Turturica. The originality of the staging, the creative use of the available space and the felicitous illustration of the idea of “maximal effects with minimal means”, the subtlety and quality of the acting, and the sophisticated art of creating stage relations were, according to the jury, the qualities that most impressed the three IATC members who followed the competition: Monica Andronescu (Romania), Ivan Medenica (Serbia), and Michel Vaïs (Canada). Like last year, the jury took into consideration the shows included in the section Theater of tomorrow, produced by young theater makers.

When the lights go out and the theater is deserted, the National Theater Festival once again says goodbye to its audience. For ten days, Bucharest has enjoyed the shows, films, concerts, exhibitions, book launches, workshops, seminars, conferences, and other theatrical events. Grand shows and small-scale shows, young theater makers and experienced theater makers, bold artists and wise artists have all found a place in the NTF / Romanian theater’s most valuable offer of the year. The joy of acting, the enthusiasm of discovering new artistic territories, and most of all the joy of communication have been part of all the scheduled events, attended not only by Romanians, but also by foreign specialists: theater people, festival managers, journalists and reviewers, with a view to promoting Romanian culture.

A great feast of dramatic talent and professionalism, every year the National Theater Festival attempts to offer all its theatergoers a few dozen minutes of intelligence of the heart and sensitivity of the mind. And when its viewers take their time and the liberty to enjoy it once again, the NTF can boast a new successful edition. Meanwhile, until the next one, the theatrical season is at its height, premieres are coming out hand over fist, and the theatrical bustle is going on. Even if the murk of crises of all kinds has not yet dissipated, with self-assured composure and serene joy Romanian theater can claim a new triumph over the times which, so Shakespeare said, it ought to mirror.