The Juicer: A drama of generations living together

The misunderstandings brawling among parents and their adult children and in-laws when they live together are presented in a play called “The Juicer”, based on a story by Russian playwright Ilya Chlaki and staged in Chisinau by acclaimed director Vitalie Drucec. Drucec stated at a presentation for journalists on Monday that, while the play is inspired from the everyday, Chlaki's absurdist and minimalist approach makes it a challenge to stage. Describing it as the drama of a multi-generation family, Drucec says such situations are not uncommon in Moldova, where many young families have little choice but to live with their parents. “It is also a social drama. If a family is not sound, society is not sound as well”. “The action of the play takes place in an apartment shared by the mother, the father, the daughter, the son-in-law, and their young children. Everybody in this play talks, but no one listens. Everybody is right in his or her own way, but there's no harmony. It's a play about a crisis of communication among the loved ones. Conflicts here seem to arise out of thin air. I think many in the audience will find themselves looking in a mirror during the play”, says Drucec. The play will premiere at the National Theater Mihai Eminescu on November 6 and 7. Tickets range in price from 50 to 100 lei.