The “Anton Pann” Theatre in Ramnicu Valcea

The “Anton Pann Theatre in Ramnicu Valcea was set up as a professional institution in May 1990.

Ștefan Baciu, 28.02.2015, 14:08

Preserving the spirit of a century-old theatre tradition in the area, the “Anton Pann” Theatre in Ramnicu Valcea, in central Romania, emerged as a professional institution in May 1990. Before that it was a popular theatre, actually one of the best in the country in the 1960s- 1980s, benefiting from the work of reputed directors such as Dan Micu, Silviu Purcarete and Alexandru Dabija.

Adrian Roman has been the manager of the Anton Pann theatre for over 10 years now, and his strategy has been to rejuvenate the troupe. So, he’s brought in 10 graduates of the theatre school in Cluj. Definitely, many young actors would like to be part of that team, so we asked Adrian Roman about the selection criteria.

Adrian Roman: “It’s not easy to become a member of the Anton Pann troupe. Those who want that should know that if they come to Ramnicu Valcea it will not be for the money, but for performing alongside a team of professionals. I’ve seen most of them, I’ve watched them grow professionally ever since they were students in Cluj. An actor joins the Anton Pann team as part of a play’s cast. They are selected by a director for a certain show, they do not just come here to make money. So, they are chosen not only by me, but by the directors that stage performances here, and as I said earlier, they are monitored at least one year before that. They do not come here only based on their track record. They also need to understand our mentality, as we promote performance here at the Anton Pann Theatre.”

What is also necessary is, of course, a lot of positive energy and enthusiasm. Besides promoting young actors, the Anton Pann theatre aims at also promoting young directors. One of them is Botos Balint, also a graduate of the school in Cluj.

To manager Adrian Roman, the most important achievement of the year 2014 was his theatre’s participation in the National Theatre Festival, with “The Belgrade Trilogy”, directed by Cristi Juncu. This year, more precisely in late March, the Anton Pann Theatre, in collaboration with the Romanian Cultural Institute, will have a tour in Ukraine, the region of Odessa. Part of that tour, the puppeteers troupe will also give performances for children. Another collaboration, also in March, will be with the Nottara Theatre.

Adrian Roman: “It all started when Marinela Tepus, the manager of the Nottara Theatre, saw several of our performances. Actually we had been to Nottara with a performance of ours, namely “Close”, by Cristi Juncu. At the Studio Theatre Festival in Pitesti, held in the autumn of 2014, Marinela Tepus was a member of the jury, and our show, “You’re an animal, Viskovitz”, by Alessandro Boffa, directed by Tudor Lucanu, won the Grand Prize. It was funny in a way, because it was the last performance in the festival. The dice had been cast, the awards established, but we interfered with their plans and got the Grand Prize and a standing ovation, which to us matters the most. Seeing the audience’s reaction, Marinela Tepus publicly extended an invitation to present our shows for a whole year. We have already scheduled the first ones. The first is the one that got the grand prize in Pitesti, which is quite special. I hope it will be equally successful at Nottara Theatre as well. We are trying to make our way into this boulevard of Romanian theatre and earn our own audience, through our own shows, because we have a young troupe of actors that is absolutely brilliant. This is my opinion. There is much talk about it at present, and I hope Bucharest too will be taken in by its performances. Unfortunately, in Ramnicu Valcea, which is a smaller town, shows are short-lived and our presence at Nottara will hopefully extend the lifespan of some of the performances that really deserve a longer lifespan.”

Recently, rehearsals for a new show called “Stags and Hens” have started at the Anton Pann theatre, a contemporary work written by Willy Russell. The performance staged by Vlad Massaci will premiere in early April. Until then, the UNITER jury will be in Ramnicu Valcea on February 28th and March 1st to see two performances proposed by the theatre for the UNITER awards: “A strange story with a dog at midnight”, directed by Vlad Massaci and “You’re an animal, Viskovitz”, directed by Tudor Lucanu. We wish them plenty of good luck, because the small theatre in Valcea is now struggling to stay among the top theatres in the country.