Dear friends!
Interferences has arrived at its fifth edition. Ten years ago, we in Cluj were rarely, if ever, able to attend performances from elsewhere in Europe or other continents. Since then – thanks to Interferences – it is almost a given that the city’s populace can see a selection of outstanding productions from the latest theatrical tendencies. Meanwhile, other alternative festivals have enhanced the city’s theatrical overtures, and have inspired us to rethink the particular profile of Interferences.
This year’s theme is strangeness. The significance of this concept and topic is due not only to the actual phenomenon of migration of probably the largest dimensions in the last fifty years, but also to its perennial nature. Strangeness has preoccupied us for thousands of years; it is a subject matter of scientific research for many fields. From cultural anthropology to sociology, contemporary philosophical discussions focus on it. Questions, such as, “What does it mean to be European?” “Of what does the European identity consist?” “What do difference and familiarity mean?”, are ever more immediate and imperative. What is the meaning of the word “stranger”? What is the “I”, and what is the “Other”? How does someone become a stranger, and what does it mean to remain identical, to be part of a group? Is the stranger the “Other” who is of a different religion, language, sex, or way of thinking? Can we speak about the strangeness of our own self, the stranger in our own being? Can we become strangers in the world, in our own country, in our city, in our home, in our family, in our self? It is questions like this that are being raised by the performances of this year’s festival. 11 days, 22 performances, from 14 countries, in 13 languages. Complete strangeness, and yet… familiarity. On the bridge of the theatre which brings people together.
Please, join us!
Gábor Tompa
Artistic Director
