Tales with Horses
An original show featuring actors and various animals, after the model of Romanian tales.
Ana-Maria Cononovici, 05.06.2016, 15:02
A medieval fortress covering 4 thousand square meters, a covered arena, 15 actors and stunt men who featured in Oscar and Golden Globes films, and a new theatre season opened by an enthusiastic team…this is, in short, the presentation of an original show featuring actors and various animals, after the model of Romanian tales.
Valentin Vasilescu, the project’s initiator, tells us more about it: “Our ensemble has been staging such shows for over 12 years, taking them throughout the country, at medieval festivals for instance. Six years since we started out activity, we decided to find a place of our own for the shows. We finally found an arena last June. We officially opened it with a show on April 23rd and have continued to use it ever since.”
The shows are held outdoors at the weekend and bring joy to children and parents alike. Valentin Vasilescu: “These type of shows are quite rare in Romania. They are not exclusively aimed for children, as, inspired by cartoons. We have introduced jokes for kids and more serious jokes for parents so that nobody gets bored. We try to stage the tales, just like in a film, so that what we usually see in a history film our spectators can see live, just a few meters away. It’s a different feeling to see horses, kites, dragons, princesses and knights at such a short distance.”
And, if the dragons, princesses and knights are impersonated by actors and stunt men, the horses, wolves and hawks are real. Valentin Vasilescu again at the microphone: “Actors have reacted better than the audience. In our show, the hawks fly freely and the wolves do their number without a leash. The audience have their reservations and reactions, but we haven’t got any complaints so far, people realise that the animals are not dangerous so the show is well received. The animals are not forced to do what they do and everybody is aware of this, which puts their mind at ease. In a show we staged last year called ‘The Dragon’, the wolves were on stage only as décor, if you will.”
Valentin Vasilescu says he is inspired in his choice of stories and characters by childhood fairytales, not one in particular, but stories where good prevails in the battle with evil: “I am responsible for the script and the staging. Generally, we try to focus on the talent of the people and the horses or the other animals. Each show lasts about one hour and a half. We are quite proud of what we do because nobody in the public, whether they are 18 months or 70 years old, has ever been bored. On the contrary, many parents told us they had never seen their children sitting so still.”
The performance venue, which has 1,000 seats, is located on Chitila road, in the Colosseum commercial park. Although the venue is never full, the organisers know the time will soon come when their shows are sold out.
We asked Valentin Vasilescu who is more excited about the shows, parents or children: “In the beginning of the show it’s the children who are more excited about what goes on in the show, but at some point, their mums, dads and grandparents start cheering louder than them. I would say that our shows are just as appealing to adults and children alike.”
The shows created by Valentin Vasilescu and his company are a great opportunity for children to enter a fairytale atmosphere, with knights and princesses, but also with wolves and eagles.
