Timisoara Theater and Multicultural Life

According to the British historian and politician R.W.Watson, the Romanian region of Banat has the most diverse ethnic groups in all of Europe.

Luana Pleşea, 02.01.2016, 14:08

In his book Europe in the Melting Pot, the British historian and
politician R. W. Seton Watson wrote last century that Banat had the most
diverse ethnic groups in all of Europe. Today, Timisoara, the seat of the
region, has three state theaters, performing in three different languages,
Romanian, Hungarian and German, and housed by the same building. These are the
Timisoara National Theater, the German State Theater of Timisoara, and the Csiky
Gergely Hungarian State Theater of Timisoara. In addition to the Romanian
directors who stage plays here, each of the three theaters periodically hosts
foreign guest directors. Today we will be talking about three premieres at this
end of the year.

Pal Frenak, one of the most famous European choreographers and
dancers, straddles two European culture centers, Paris and Budapest. Theater
goers in Timisoara are familiar with his work. He has been invited to several
editions of the Timisoara European Drama Festival, and he staged the first show
combining drama and dance on the stage of the National Theater. In early
December, Pal Frenak and the Timisoara National theater staged the dance-drama
show ‘Through a Dream’, a reverse road movie combining the two arts.

Here is
Ada Hausvater, manager of the theater: These are contemporary stories, told of a contemporary manner,
a variety of tales told through dance and lots of energy. These are splendid
images, the actors are wonderful, and are fabulous dancers. Everything is lived
through dance. It is a beautiful story, with a real Cadillac center stage. We
are in a car, on a highway. Depending on the audience’s experience, they can
make various connections with celebrities. The more you know, the happier you are.
It is a challenging and intelligent show. This seems to me the most important
thing in Pal’s creation. In this show, the main engine is emotion.

The multicultural nature of the city is part of the strategy of the
National Theater in Timisoara. Here is Ada Hausvater again:

For us it is very important to work with foreign artists, to
stage at the National Theater, experiences, ideals and commonalities, which
pushes forward theater and the performing arts. I believe it is our duty to
open the doors towards something new. For that, you have to lay emphasis on
diversity. For me it was important not to let the theater become unilateral,
going in only one direction. We refrained from saying: this is good, or this is
bad. For me the most important thing in terms of mentalities is to develop
creativity, the individual capacity to be the most original and sensitive.

The German State Theater of Timisoara also invites plenty of foreign
directors. Here is Lucian Varsandan, the manager of the institution:

The German Theater of Timisoara aims to bring in German
language artists. This reminds me of a conversation I had a few years ago with
an audience member, who said she wanted to see as much German language theater
as she can in our institution. German language drama is among the most
interesting, applied to the fundamentals of contemporary man. In this context,
it is important for us to present the works of major directors, who have made a
name for themselves in German language drama and beyond. For instance, Volker
Schmidt is definitely one of the artists who meet these criteria. He is known
all over Europe as a director and playwright. He is a director and creator who
is deeply rooted in contemporary theater.

And now we go to the Csiky Gergely Hungarian Theater of Timisoara,
which hosted this end of the year an independent director and actor from Serbia,
Puskas Zoltan, who staged the famous musical ‘Hair.’ Here is actor Attila
Balazs, manager of the theater:

This region, Banat, is close to both Hungary and Serbia. We can
say that we speak the same language in different languages, which means we
understand each other just fine. Director Puskas Zoltan has staged musicals in
Timisoara before. I believe that now we made a leap forward by daring to stage
Hair. This season we have another play, staged this time by a Serbian director
born in Montenegro. This area of the Balkans is very interesting, it is alive.
We have a regional festival too, the TESZT Euro-regional Theater Festival. We
plan to bring in plenty more directors from abroad, but what matters most is
the line that the Hungarian Theater in Timisoara takes, with vibrant shows,
with an energetic troupe, who does its best.