Old furniture, sepia tone pictures, candles, painting frames hanging from exposed brick walls make up the perfect set design for a play which is nothing but a subtle exploration of the fragility of family relationships in the context of a crisis.<\/p>\n
Having studied theatre, dance and cinema in France, at the University of Metz, the Sorbonne, and finally Nanterre, Vlad Chiri\u0163\u0103 is no stranger to classical forms. But his artistic heart lies elsewhere. \u201cI\u2019ve never staged a classical play outside of school. I\u2019ve always needed work that\u2019s in dialogue with the present moment\u201d, he says.<\/p>\n
“Break of Day” also marks his return to stage, after a period dedicated to cinema, which has left an indelible mark on his work:<\/p>\n
Vlad Chiri\u0163\u0103: The experience of working in film, of seeing, made me think very cinematic. My way of working theatre changed through this, through this lens. I think it is important\u00a0 when you switch to other domains, when you start to do something else, to let everything permeate and try to enrich your experience and try to get into that and see how this change, how this can affect you, change you, and make you do maybe different forms that you did prior.<\/p>\n
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In turn, Fredrik Brattberg started his career in music and has composed over forty works before writing drama. It is from music that he draws sap of inspiration and he uses rhythm, particularly repetition, in his theatrical writing, for which he has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Ibsen Prize, for \u201cReturns\u201d, in 2012. His works have been translated into twenty languages and are being staged or read out in Germany, France, Norway and Romania. Upon his arrival in Bucharest, I met Fredrik Brattberg in the Kerim House:<\/p>\n
\u201cWords are atoms of my world\u201d, one of Romania\u2019s most outstanding contemporary playwrights, Matei Visniec, once said. What is YOUR world made of?<\/p>\n
Fredrik Brattberg: I need art. I need music for the world to open up to me. Without them, the world feels closed, hidden,\u00a0 difficult to fully grasp. But when I experience a piece of music or see theatre or visual art, I suddenly begin to understand. So for me, the world is indirect. I reach it through a medium, through something else. That\u2019s the only way I can approach truth or find the right place to stand in life.<\/p>\n
Does music play a central role in your life?<\/p>\n
Fredrik Brattberg: Absolutely. You know, you can attend a funeral and not feel anything at first,\u00a0 not really comprehend the depth of the event. But then, suddenly, music begins playing in the church and everything shifts. You understand where you are and what\u2019s happening. Music opens up the room, it opens up my life. I need it to fully live.<\/p>\n
The title “Break of Day” suggests multiple meanings: the dawn of a new day or a breakdown,\u00a0 something ruined, that was why I wanted to know what it really meant to Fredrik Brattberg. A double metaphor?<\/p>\n
Fredrik Brattberg: Exactly that. At the end of the play, there\u2019s a literal sunrise, but the day is also breaking into pieces. It\u2019s like wearing glasses: you don\u2019t notice them because you\u2019re looking through them. But when they break, you finally see them as an object. That\u2019s the same with the day, we take it for granted. In this play, the day is fractured and suddenly you see it. You see your routines. You see what brings the family together. And then, in the end, the dawn returns, bringing something new.<\/p>\n
\u201cBreak of Day\u201d is played this summer in the Kerim House, still veiled in scents of yore, \u00a0but full of the magic of young creators, who use words to create new worlds!<\/p>\n