Young people more interested in theater

At the end of the season, the Chisinau theaters draw up conclusions. The general conclusion is encouraging: the young people show increased interest in theater. The artists speak about a more pretentious, therefore more elevated public. Contacted by Info-Prim Neo, the artistic director of the National Theater “Mihai Eminescu”, Alexandru Cozub said that they began to achieve success in the fight with the television, internet and cinematography, which, according to him, “steal” more and more free time. He considers that the young people are now more curious, want to know more and this contributes to an improved level of general culture. However, he stressed that the theater public in Moldova is not yet very numerous. The most popular plays at “Mihai Eminescu” in the last theatrical season were “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare and “The Last Hour” by Mihail Sebastian, a performance which, according to Cozub, must be also listened to because there is a lot of text in it. The cited source ascertained that “the people like to listen” and expressed surprise at this fact. The National Theater “Mihai Eminescu” will premiere he play “The Story of an Ordinary Insanity” by the Czech Piotr Zelenca at the end of this year’s season, while in autumn it will premiere a comedy directed by the Romanian Ion Sadaru. The artistic director of “Satiricus Ion Luca Caragiale” Theater, Sandu Grecu also said that the public now expresses an increased interest in theater. The public became also more diversified by age. “By now, the largest part of the public was formed of children and persons aged over 40, but this year the actors managed to cultivate the art of beauty and to attract the attention of a larger number of categories of spectators,” Grecu said. Sandu Grecu also said that the public has changed its preference for the theater genres. Compared with the previous years, when the comedy was very popular, the present season can be characterized by political satire and dramas that reflect the reality. According to Grecu, the ordinary people got tired of comedy and want reality in the theater, and the spectator’s wish is the most important for directors and actors. The director said that among the most popular plays at “Satiricus” this year were those by Ion Luca Caragiale, “A Monkey in the Bathroom” by Irina Nechit and the “Loafers of the Moldovan Revolution” by the dramatist Constantin Cheianu. Asked if this year’s success can insure the smooth running of the theater the next season, Sandu Grecu said that a dramatic theater like “Ion Luca Caragiale” cannot administer and finance itself from public money as it is not enough to stage the 5-6 plays that “Satiricus” performs every year. “Ion Luca Caragiale” is now preparing the play “Caligula” for the next season. In autumn, it will also put on the “Letters of Ion Luca Caragiale” by Val Butnaru, and a surprise that will probably arouse controversy. Therefore, details will be made public before the performance. The puppet theaters have had a constant number of visitors in the past few years. According to the director of the theater “Guguta”, Victor Stefaniuc, the theater is visited mostly by children from families with a good financial situation that can afford it. Many children want to go, but cannot. “There are villages where the children can watch shows through the window,” Stefaniuc said. He also said that the theater halls for kids are full only on nonworking days and when the visits of the children are organized. But he said that the number of visitors on ordinary days, by 100 chidlren a day, is satisfactory. “Guguta” officially closes the present season on June 11, but Stefaniuc said that a small troupe of actors will continue performing plays for the chidlren in summer. The director of the national puppet theater “Licurici”, Titus Jucov has told Info-Prim Neo that the number of spectators has increased in the past 2-3 years and remains constant, compared with the 90s. According to him, this is due to the fact that the number of schools and kindergartens has increased. “Licurici” will put on the last play of this season in July.