In his book Europe in the Melting Pot, the British historian and
\npolitician R. W. Seton Watson wrote last century that Banat had the most
\ndiverse ethnic groups in all of Europe. Today, Timisoara, the seat of the
\nregion, has three state theaters, performing in three different languages,
\nRomanian, Hungarian and German, and housed by the same building. These are the
\nTimisoara National Theater, the German State Theater of Timisoara, and the Csiky
\nGergely Hungarian State Theater of Timisoara. In addition to the Romanian
\ndirectors who stage plays here, each of the three theaters periodically hosts
\nforeign guest directors. Today we will be talking about three premieres at this
\nend of the year.<\/p>\n
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\n
<\/p>\n
Pal Frenak, one of the most famous European choreographers and
\ndancers, straddles two European culture centers, Paris and Budapest. Theater
\ngoers in Timisoara are familiar with his work. He has been invited to several
\neditions of the Timisoara European Drama Festival, and he staged the first show
\ncombining drama and dance on the stage of the National Theater. In early
\nDecember, Pal Frenak and the Timisoara National theater staged the dance-drama
\nshow ‘Through a Dream’, a reverse road movie combining the two arts. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Here is
\nAda Hausvater, manager of the theater: These are contemporary stories, told of a contemporary manner,
\na variety of tales told through dance and lots of energy. These are splendid
\nimages, the actors are wonderful, and are fabulous dancers. Everything is lived
\nthrough dance. It is a beautiful story, with a real Cadillac center stage. We
\nare in a car, on a highway. Depending on the audience’s experience, they can
\nmake various connections with celebrities. The more you know, the happier you are.
\nIt is a challenging and intelligent show. This seems to me the most important
\nthing in Pal’s creation. In this show, the main engine is emotion.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The multicultural nature of the city is part of the strategy of the
\nNational Theater in Timisoara. Here is Ada Hausvater again:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
For us it is very important to work with foreign artists, to
\nstage at the National Theater, experiences, ideals and commonalities, which
\npushes forward theater and the performing arts. I believe it is our duty to
\nopen the doors towards something new. For that, you have to lay emphasis on
\ndiversity. For me it was important not to let the theater become unilateral,
\ngoing in only one direction. We refrained from saying: this is good, or this is
\nbad. For me the most important thing in terms of mentalities is to develop
\ncreativity, the individual capacity to be the most original and sensitive.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The German State Theater of Timisoara also invites plenty of foreign
\ndirectors. Here is Lucian Varsandan, the manager of the institution: <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The German Theater of Timisoara aims to bring in German
\nlanguage artists. This reminds me of a conversation I had a few years ago with
\nan audience member, who said she wanted to see as much German language theater
\nas she can in our institution. German language drama is among the most
\ninteresting, applied to the fundamentals of contemporary man. In this context,
\nit is important for us to present the works of major directors, who have made a
\nname for themselves in German language drama and beyond. For instance, Volker
\nSchmidt is definitely one of the artists who meet these criteria. He is known
\nall over Europe as a director and playwright. He is a director and creator who
\nis deeply rooted in contemporary theater.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
And now we go to the Csiky Gergely Hungarian Theater of Timisoara,
\nwhich hosted this end of the year an independent director and actor from Serbia,
\nPuskas Zoltan, who staged the famous musical ‘Hair.’ Here is actor Attila
\nBalazs, manager of the theater: <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
This region, Banat, is close to both Hungary and Serbia. We can
\nsay that we speak the same language in different languages, which means we
\nunderstand each other just fine. Director Puskas Zoltan has staged musicals in
\nTimisoara before. I believe that now we made a leap forward by daring to stage
\nHair. This season we have another play, staged this time by a Serbian director
\nborn in Montenegro. This area of the Balkans is very interesting, it is alive.
\nWe have a regional festival too, the TESZT Euro-regional Theater Festival. We
\nplan to bring in plenty more directors from abroad, but what matters most is
\nthe line that the Hungarian Theater in Timisoara takes, with vibrant shows,
\nwith an energetic troupe, who does its best.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":160802,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44685],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-160801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-of-culture"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n