“Horror Vacui”

Between the 15th and the 22nd of February, the Galateca Art Gallery in Bucharest hosted the longest theatrical event in the world

Ion Puican, 01.03.2025, 11:32

Between the 15th and the 22nd of February, the Galateca Art Gallery in the center of the capital hosted the longest theatrical event in the world: 7 days, 24 hours out of 24, 505 actors (3 actors per hour), 505 texts about emptiness and abandonment. The event was named “Horror Vacui” (translated as phobia of emptiness) and it was a worldwide theatrical first, made with the support of the Museum of Abandonment and Papercuts – an initiative for civic change. This theatrical performance aimed to carry out an emotional mediation and at the same time call for the recognition of a part of Romania’s traumatic past: the abandonment of children in our country and the history of this phenomenon in the communist period before 1989 and the post-communist one. Over 1 million children were abandoned during the communist regime, becoming victims of the system that turned them into “nobody’s children”. An initiative that aims to encourage social change through more cultural and civic resilience.

The actor, playwright and initiator of the “Horror Vacui” project, Alexandru Ivănoiu, told us what was the inspiration behind the project:

“A question I’ve been getting a lot lately and it seems like every day of performance brings a new answer. Today I’ve realized that I created this performance also for my fellow actors to be more connected, more united, to come to see each other beyond perhaps some sort of aesthetic or political differences between us. I was also curious, I think, and if we can rally more people around, minimum 500, around a single project, around an idea. At a time when it seems to me that it’s so easy to find differences and it’s even easier to turn those differences into very strong reasons not to hang out with someone or avoid someone at work. And I think that, sure, just as this whole dimension of abandonment is explored in every story, and as we explore the opposite of abandonment, I think that’s how we, as new artists, explore moments when what we do together is more important than what we do individually.”

The texts used in the show-event “Horror Vacui” are based on testimonies and stories archived by the Museum of Abandonment or texts by contemporary authors. They outline a collective meditation on acknowledging the past and reconstructing the future. Moreover, this initiative aims to create an intimate and continuous space for dialogue in finding solutions.

Alexandru Ivănoiu told us about the data used for the project:

“We can talk about the at least 253 examples, testimonies, photos, materials that the people from the Abandonment Museum offered us to include in “Horror Vacui”. The other elements on which we based this performance are texts written by contemporary authors, and materials donated by other NGOs or other social and cultural actors who fight with abandonment. So it was a deployment of forces beyond the 505 actors. And based on the texts here too we thank and are deeply grateful to the Museum of Abandonment, because based on their archival work we managed to bring life to this performance.”

The project was also faced with some challenges:

“The main challenges, quite obviously, were those related to the schedule. It’s very difficult to fit the schedules of 500 actors and there was limited time, but at the same time, the paradox is that I don’t think there would’ve been a better time. So gathering 500 actors in two months is very difficult, but not impossible.”

Alexandru Ivănoiu also told us about the aim of the „Horror Vacui” project:

“What we want to achieve with this approach would be, first of all, certainly, a legislative change. There should be a commission to document and investigate the facts of abuse against institutionalized children from 1966 until 2007, something we Papercuts and the Museum of Abandonment and several other NGOs have been formally demanding. We want to research to have a document that clearly tells us how many, who and how. Because we believe that only on the basis of this act we could generate a change. And as far as rewards or other changes and punitive means, I think an acknowledgment is the biggest step toward healing, and it’s so simple to do.”

Alexandru Ivănoiu also told us about the participants in the project and the audiences’ reaction to „Horror Vacui”:

“In general, the people who participated in the project responded very positively. I mean, we enjoyed a network of open volunteers and actors, who also passed on information, spoke nicely about the idea, and I think that, in turn, they are messengers with us, of the mission we have. The reaction from the public has been very nice. I think the most uplifting thing is that we have audiences at 5 in the morning, at 4 in the morning. People wake up to see their friends, family, colleagues and then stay to see others. And during the night the same. It creates a little community, which is special.” (MI)