FESTIVAL DIARY 2.
During the 2nd day of the festival the macro-boarders of the theme of the stranger were mapped by
Armin Petras’ performance “
Nathan the wise” after Lessing (
Schauspiel Stuttgart &
Radu Stanca National Theatre, Sibiu) and the micro-plan (of how people from less developed EU countries are facing the challenge of economical migration) was drawn by the Hungarian performance “
It’s not the time of my life”, (written & directed by
Szabolcs Hajdu,
Látókép Ensemble).
Szabolcs Hajdu’s performance impressed me by its psychological complexity mixed with some fresh moments of humor and self-irony. There is also a tiny element of surrealism, mostly in the children’s characters, played by adult actors (
Hay Anna and
Gelanyi Imre). It reminded us of that absurd and stressful moment when one is standing on the passage between childhood and maturity. Performing on a small piece of improvised stage (at Tranzit House), sieged by public from all sides, the actors had no other option but to be as natural and truthful as they could. They made us contemplate on the psychological and material risks of being a stranger – one can easily remain homeless (literally and figuratively), and never like enough a place to call it home and to identify with. Thus
Szabolcs Hajdu’s characters, all in their 40s, are still living in rented apartments or are nothing but homeless. Emella (
Sárosdi Lilla) and Albert (
Szabó Domokos) who have no place to go after coming back from Scotland, moved to her sister’s flat; however they are not bothered to give advice on how it’s a pity “to live all your life” in rented spaces. The desire of “elsewhere” is confronted with the lack of a specific idea where that elsewhere could be. There is a dramatic collision between real and imaginary, between dreams and real life’s offer.
“
Nathan the wise“, written in 1779, gained some fresh popularity during the last seasons. Lessing's play is about the boundaries between religious communities that live together and the hidden aggressiveness between them. Nathan asks directly: "Is the fact that I am a Jew and you are a Muslim more important than the fact that we both are human beings?" It’s a fundamental humanistic query.
The stage represents Babylon under constant bomb attacks, we hear and see screenings of planes (set designer
Dragoş Buhagiar). Some destroyed walls remind us of pictures of the Syrian war. In this unfriendly environment Lessing’s characters try to lead a normal life. And of course some of them are dreaming of escaping to Europe. (”You will not leave me behind when you both go to Europe?”)
The actors communicate in German, Romanian and English in order to highlight the multicultural environment (in the Lessing’s play and in
Radu Stanca Theatre, Sibiu). It is a statement; different religions and languages can’t really separate people and trouble the communication.
The text of Lessing, with its old fashioned composition and dramatic revelations (the Jewish girl, the Christian knight and the sultan Saladin all appear to be part of the same family) could be perfectly performed today as a melodrama (not as a parody of melodrama, to be clear).
Armin Petras however hesitates between parody and forced dramatic scenes (when it comes to declare one’s religious status, one’s sexual education or when Recha explains why she’s not willing to flee to Europe – “You hear bombs, I hear the future” – she says). At the end, when the characters reveal they are in fact one family, we have no information how they feel about it (in melodrama that’s the whole pleasure). We receive no information if their lives have changed for better and if the religious limits have been overpassed.
Lessing’s answer on The Stranger issue is quite an eccentric one: no one is a foreigner, no one is an outcast - we are all brothers, one family divided by time and circumstances. Another version of utopia, explored during the festival.
Aglika Stefanova-Oltean
