class="">Bobi Pricop: “I like leaving the theatre hall a little richer, at least by a question”

Probably the youngest director in the NTF, Bobi Pricop (aged 28) staged “The Religion Teach’ “ at the National Theatre of Craiova. The show will be played today, the 28^th of October and the Bucharest National.

An interview by Judy Florescu

This year, Bobi Pricop worked with Robert Wilson, the famous American director who made “Rhinoceros”, by Eugene Ionescu, also at the National Theatre of Craiova. The show, which will be the closing act of the NTF, is a must-see for any art lover.

Which are the advantages of participating in a national festival with a provincial show?

Visibility. The fact that the show and the actors get to meet a different audience. The shows in the provinces have a shorter lifespan, not because they deteriorate, but because the public gets tired pretty quickly. On the other hand, the Bucharest audience gets the chance to meet or rediscover very talented actors in the theatres throughout the country.

You’ve staged texts by Eric Bogosian, Edna Mayza, Alina Nelega, Esteve Esoler and Mihaela Michailov. Which are the elements to take into consideration when choosing a play to direct?

It’s difficult. For me, this is the most difficult part of setting up a show. The late professor, Tudor Mărăscu said that if a play is well chosen and the cast is right, the job is 90% done. I care very much that the texts I attach myself to be relevant to myself, first, that is to feel their story doesn’t leave me cold. Then it’s important that the subject, the structure of the text or my proposition to be a challenge for the actors I’m about to work with. If I can get them interested, then there might be a hook for the audience as well.

You graduated from the Faculty of Theatre’s Acting section, and went on to study Directing (bachelor’s and master’s). Why did you opt for directing?

At the time, when I graduated, I didn’t see myself getting anywhere with acting. There are about two hundred acting graduates around the country, yearly. Even if I had the chance to be raised by an excellent professor, miss Sanda Manu, I was frustrated because I finished a private school. I thought my only chance is to open my own theatre. And it seemed to me that an actor finishing a private school lacked credibility. So I went in that same year and applied for directing at the UNATC. Meanwhile I began enjoying directing, I got swept away and I put aside acting for a while. Recently I’ve been thinking about also working as an actor.

You said in an interview: “To me, directing is a search, not an accomplishment”. Which are the discoveries you’ve had practicing this craft?

Peter Brook recently said in an interview that the question stands: “what is the purpose of theatre?”. “Why theatre?” mustn’t be an abstract question, and the answer doesn’t have to be permanent. Brook says that all the theories that have to do with theatre in the past two hundred years are expired. In our current world, a perfectly viable answer yesterday is already ousted today. This is a question upon which we must constantly come back to. My discoveries were valid in their time and in a certain context. They mustn’t become a craft. I invariable work with the same data, I try not to use it in the same ways, I try not to get bored.

You’ve staged in Bucharest, Paris as well as Craiova. How was each experience like, from a team-based standpoint?

I’ve never had unfortunate experiences with any of the troupes I’ve worked with. I was lucky to stumble upon very passionate actors and people, who did their job to the best of their abilities.

“Counter progress” is a show which is part of the Bulandra Theatrical Season. There are a lot of young people who don’t have access to state theatres. What’s your story in this regard?

I staged shows while I was still in my Master’s Year, alongside my acting colleagues, rehearsing throughout the faculty halls. Am requested a viewing at the Bulandra, which had just opened its “Liviu Ciulei” Laboratory. Ducu Darie liked our proposition and decided to take on the show. A long process followed, in which we had the patience to get in sync with the theatre’s schedule. In fall of last year, we premiered and the show is played quite often this theatrical season.

In another interview, you said of independent theatre: “There are extraordinary things which happen in the independent area, and people who do theatre for reasons other than profit. There is a measure of business in this area as well, which is necessary, but which I’m not yet interested in.” What is the business side of things in independent theatre?

I meant a repertoire which limits itself to a kind of pop entertainment, with huge names heading the billboards. This is the winning equation anywhere in the world. But I’m not drawn to such things. When I want to see something laughable I go see stand-up comedy or improv. At least there’s a certain rapport being set between performers and audience from the very start.

What does it mean to compromise in theatre? Is your power of choosing the text, the cast, the tech crew, limited?

I managed so far to do things as I wanted them to be. There are, however, situations when theatres ask you to stage a certain script or impose a certain genre, a certain actor in the cast. If the proposition is in line with your artistic discourse, then it’s fine. But, if it becomes a compromise, it must be clear why you do it and what for.

I notice that in acting, the more parts you play, the more well-known and sought-after you are. How many shows must you do ,per season to gain notoriety as a director?

I have no clue. I’m not sure it has to do with quantity. Directors make themselves known much harder than actors. It’s very rare that people come to the theatre to see how X directed. They come see Y or Z act.

You said at one point that theatre is useless when it doesn’t manage to tell a story that means something to the people who see it. How can you tell that your shows are part of this “useful theatre”?

I hope the shows I worked at are valid in the sense in which they carry important stories, for me, primarily. And I like leaving the theatre house a little richer, be it by a question. Maybe theatre should be a way of placing man in dialogue with the world he lives in.

How do you feel about “Rhinoceros”, which is played in Craiova, being broadcast live, at the cinema, in Bucharest?

I can only be glad to be part of the team who worked on this show. A show by Bob Wilson build in Romania on a text by Eugen Ionescu is a must-see for any art lover. It’s an event. I only wish that the experience in the cinema would be up to snuff with that of the live performance in Craiova.