Speranţe de toamnă

The 23^rd edition of the National Theater Festival, traditionally organized by the Romanian Theaters Union (UNITER) and financed by the Ministry of Culture and by BucharestCity Hall through ArCuB, will take place between 25 October and 3 November 2013. The festival will practically mobilize all the theatrical venues of the capital city (far from many, with facilities often below the required level of a European metropolis!), in addition to several others that have in recent years become hospitable para-theatrical areas: cultural centers, bookstores, teahouses.

A selection of 22 performances produced during the 2012-2013 season by theaters from all around the country, be they large or small scale, subsidized and independent, along with four “timeless” shows grouped in the Focus section (dedicated this year to the The Art of the Actor, represented by the outstanding actress Mariana Mihuţ) attempt (subject to quantitative constraints imposed by the eternal “small renumeration,  as stimulated in the budget”)to outline a convincing landscape of Romanian theatrical life in the past season. Under the circumstances, a special section will naturally bring to usCaragiale, the Inevitable, our contemporary, more than ever….

Creators and theaters performing will present, over the ten days of the festival,old and new plays, grand productions and “pocket” shows, directors’, set designers’ and, above all, actors’ recitals of high professional level, extremely diverse, but having the pleasure of acting, the enthusiasm of discovering new artistic territories, and the joy of communicating with the audience in common.

Individual  or collective high class acting demonstrations, as well as initiatives  aiming at exploding  the usual limits of the “provider of cultural services” status are the object of a section entitled Actors in the Spotlight, initiated at the 2011 edition, along with Theatre of Tomorrow, showcasing performances by the youngest stage directors. Last, but certainly not least, Stage Legends partially documents, a genuine myth of Romanian theater after 1989 / An Ancient Trilogy. in a revised formula (yet remaining as vigorous as 23 years ago!).

As usual, the performances will be accompanied by a series of related events: debates, conferences, book launches, exhibitions, workshops. The NTF Divans meaningful discussions about theater and its joys and woes will be accompanied by sweets, tea and coffee, refreshing Levantine delights!

The curator of the selection and artistic director of the 2013 edition of the National Theater Festival is theatre critic Alice Georgescu, serving the last of her 3-years assignment, whereas Aura Corbeanu, vice-president of UNITER, is the executive director of the festival.

Autumn was never this beautiful… Let us hope the ten days of THEATRICAL FEAST will run according to this short fragment of the famous poem by Tudor Arghezi and, after them, our souls will feel the joy of life!