Chronicle by Clara Angela Roman
The Republic of Baklava tells us the (sad) story of a Greek-Turkish couple (Sofie and Fatih), whose solution to combating discrimination is the establishment of an autonomous state. Inspired by the Greek Revolution of 1821 against the occupation of the Ottoman Empire, the show transposes the historical event into the contemporary, fictionalizing it, in order to bring problems of current democracy to the attention of the public.
Comic, dynamic and sometimes sober. This is how I would describe the Republic of Baklava, directed by Anestis Azas, a co-production of Athens and Epidaurus Festival & Projektor Non-Profit Organization. Talented actors who sing, dance, shape their voice to imitate the noises of an airplane or bomb, and speak English with a (very captivating) British accent. During the two hours, we are shown differences of opinion between Turks and Greeks, critical replies to society, a revolt against segregation on nationality grounds, ideals that fail, and flour fights followed by tragic consequences. A performance that made me curious, prompted me to research the history of Greece and think about what my own Baklava Republic would look like. What doesn't work in a community, and how could we change that? Could we improve current socio-political conditions if we created our own country? Or would we end up like those in the Republic of Baklava? (i.e., put against a wall and killed).
I asked myself many questions after leaving the room, finding my own answer to most of them. However, it stays unclear (and Wikipedia did not explain it to me either): Who invented the baklava?
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“Ph[r]ases”- Creative Formulas is a programme conceived by Diana Katharina and Daniela Șilindean together with the team of the German State Theatre Timișoara, dedicated to the theatre chronicle 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.
