Chronicle by Carmen Tărniceru
The Republic of Baklava is every man's dream to escape from a society caught in rules, laws, punishments and, especially, a cruel lack of empathy. Few know, however, that in May 1968, such a state was declared independent, called Insulo de la Rozoj (Island of Roses), with three permanent inhabitants, an artificial island of 400 square meters built in the Adriatic Sea, an ideal of freedom that was destroyed with two tons of explosives 10 months later.
Similar as motives and method of realization, the characters of the show want to create their own world, in which no one will be judged according to ethnicity, name, religion, and in which Greeks and Turks do not share a bloody history. It is a utopia that will be brutally destroyed and leaves traumas as deep as any great historical episode. A dream that turns into a phantasm with a disastrous ending. On this “cheerful” note, one evening in the middle of a week ends.
A show, however, mostly cheerful, with a mixture of pathos and ecstasy so loved on the Balkan scene, with very many elements and ideas piled in two long hours. Transitions from burlesque situations to individual and rhythmic team dances, from English to Turkish and Greek, live music, live background vocal sounds, airplanes, bombs, deep reflections, politics, baklava recipes, a slow motion video in decor with the life of the island, from sunrise to sunset, refugees, unions, riots, an evolution worthy of "Animal Farm", a lot of good mood and applause in the hall. I came out confused, laughing-crying and craving oriental cakes.
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"Theatre Chronicle @ Eurothalia" is a programme conceived by Daniela Șilindean together with the team of the German State Theatre Timișoara, within the Eurothalia 2023 European Theatre Festival, held between 20-30 September 2023, financed by the National Cultural Program Timișoara - European Capital of Culture in 2023.
