We have started rehearsals for a new premiere, "The Presidents" by Werner Schwab, directed by Irisz Kovacs, which will premiere on March 12. The sets and costumes are by Réka Oláh, the dramaturgy by Mira Țâra, the music is composed by Adrian Piciorea, the stage movement by Sergiu Diță and the stage speech by Daniel Pascal. The cast includes: Isolde Cobeț, Simona Vintilă, Ioana Iacob and Radu Vulpe.
Following a childhood and youth marked by great difficulties and several theatrical experiments rejected by Austrian literary magazines, Werner Schwab made his mark with his debut, "The Presidents". Since its first staging in 1989, the play has won Schwab international acclaim for its original, subversive and shocking language.
"The Presidents" is part of the literary genre Anti-Heimat (anti-patriotism). In the tradition established by playwrights such as Nestroy and Horváth, Schwab explores and deconstructs concepts on which the state is based, such as patriotism, family, religion and history, through the eyes of two retired women and their younger girlfriend. Erna and Grete reflect on the hardships they have endured in life and fantasize how they should be able to afford to spend their old age after a lifetime of work. Meanwhile, Mariedl seems to face the truth, despite the religious filter through which she views life. Through these individual destinies, "The Presidents" shows how the post-war generations process the historical events in which they more or less consciously take part.
Irisz Kovacs is a theater director and photographer. She was the winner of the festival-competition D-butan-T 2021 and director of the Fresh Start residency at Reactor of Creation and Experiment, where the performance "A child on a liter of gasoline" was born, performed in the framework of the Festival "Șerban Ionescu", Fest FDR, Undercloud. She was nominated for the UNITER award for debut for the show "8 fathers" at the Constanta State Theatre, selected in the National Theatre Festival. In 2023 she received a new UNITER nomination for directing TSCHICK. Why We Took the Car, a stage adaptation by Robert Koall of the novel by Wolfgang Herrndorf, a TGST production. She was also awarded the "Iulian Vișa" Prize at the Sibiu International Theater Festival (FITS) in 2024, which is given to young theater creators.
See you at the premiere!
