The Regina Maria Theater announces the premiere of the show "„Brown”", a contemporary text by Csaba Székely, directed by Bobi Pricop, which will take place on October 17 and 18, 2026, from 7:00 PM, in the theater's Great Hall. The show is bilingual and marks the first co-production of the Regina Maria Theater together with the Szigligeti Theater.

This co-production represents an important moment for the city's theatrical life, being the first of its kind jointly produced by Oradea's theatrical institutions. In the MaRó performance, the actors of the Szigligeti Theatre and those of the Regina Maria Theatre not only share the same stage, but also participate in a common artistic process, based on dialogue, trust and mutual knowledge. The meeting of the two troupes can be valuable both from a professional point of view, by bringing together different theatrical experiences and practices, and at the community level, because it creates a bridge between the audiences of the two institutions.

Nagyvárad–Oradea is a city where Romanian and Hungarian communities live together, and this reality makes the theme of the show all the more relevant. Csaba Székely's text does not present Romanian-Hungarian coexistence as absurd, but brings to the fore, through satire, the absurd situations that can arise from stereotypes, prejudices, historical resentments or from our inability to truly listen to and understand the other.

Humor and self-irony offer us the opportunity to look at these sensitive topics with a certain distance, but also with sincerity. The show does not aim to ridicule or accuse one of the communities, but to make us recognize our own reflexes and prejudices and, perhaps, be able to laugh at them together.

The Oradea audience will receive the show with openness and curiosity, precisely because they will recognize in it situations, mentalities and tensions that are part of the common reality. Of course, such a subject can provoke different reactions, but theater also has the role of asking questions, taking us out of our comfort zone and creating the necessary space for dialogue. The goal of this project is for MaRó to be not only a meeting of the two troupes, but also an authentic meeting of the two communities.

The cast includes actors from the Iosif Vulcan Troupe and the Szigligeti Troupe: Richard Balint, Balogh Attila, Giorgiana Coman, Fodor Reka, Ioana Dragos Gajdo, István Hunyadi, Máthé Barbara, Eugene Neag, Razvan Vicoveanu, Szotyori József, Tasnádi-Sáhy Noémi, Tőtős Ádám 

Show recommended for people over 12 years old!

Csaba Szekely (1981, Târgu Mureș) is a playwright, screenwriter and literary translator, one of the internationally recognized authors of contemporary Hungarian and Transylvanian dramaturgy.

His career began with the radio play Do you like bananas, comrades?, which in 2009 won the BBC's Regional Award for Europe, and in 2013 the Richard Imison Award, awarded by the Society of Authors in Great Britain. Wider recognition has brought him The Mines Trilogy, made up of the pieces Mine flowers, Mine blind and Mine water. The three texts explore, through the stories of a Transylvanian community, a series of social themes often considered taboo, such as unemployment, alcoholism, nationalism, corruption or suicide.

Among his other important works are: Michael the Brave, Maria's Country, 10, I don't regret anything., Candles of justice, The Birth of a Dictator and What am I?. In his more recent plays, themes such as the relationship between the individual and power, the nature of authoritarian thinking, memory and historical responsibility, as well as the impact of technological change on human relationships become increasingly prominent.

His work has been rewarded with numerous professional distinctions: in Hungary he has won the Theatre Critics' Award five times, and in Romania he has been awarded the UNITER Award. His plays have been staged, in addition to Romania and Hungary, in several European countries and in the United States of America. One of the defining features of his theatrical universe is the ability to make major social and political themes accessible and deeply human through individual destinies: his characters are vulnerable, easily lovable, sometimes ridiculous people, in whose daily struggles the historical and social conflicts of an entire region are reflected.

The show is directed by Bobi Pricop, one of the most active and appreciated directors of his generation, with an artistic career built around contemporary dramaturgy, social themes and the relationship between theater and new technologies. He has staged shows in numerous theaters in Romania, and among his recent performances are "The Lesson", "In Between", "Beauty and the Beast", "Solaris", "Unrest" and "Toto".

He has a long-standing collaboration with the Regina Maria Theatre, initiated through the performances "The Ritual Murder of Gorge Mastromas" and "The Son", which he directed. He was artistic director of the "Iosif Vulcan" Troupe, and currently holds the position of artistic director of the troupe.

In 2026, he staged the play "Dețeptarea", by Doru Vatavlui, a production dedicated to teenagers, built on the real experiences and problems of young people and located at the intersection of theater, technology and the social realities of the present. The show was awarded two prizes at the 2026 edition of the Oradea International Theater Festival, within the Section Short Theatre Festival: Best Director Award, awarded to Bobi Pricop, and Special Jury Prize for the Teen Band.

His artistic career is also marked by numerous other awards and nominations, including the UNITER Award for the best TV theater show, the "Iulian Vișa" Award at the Sibiu International Theater Festival and several nominations at the UNITER Awards Gala. Since 2017, he has been on the list of nominations for the Europe Award for New Theatrical Realities.

For Bobi Pricop, theatre is a space where sensitive themes of the present can become a subject of dialogue, and technology can function as an artistic tool for approaching the reality of the contemporary audience. This perspective also includes „MaRó”, a show produced in collaboration with the Regina Maria Theatre and the Szigligeti Theatre in Oradea, which brings together Romanian and Hungarian actors and explores, through humor and self-irony, the stereotypes, prejudices and tensions between the two communities. His directorial proposal for Csaba Székely’s text is oriented „towards a live cinema area, with cameras in sight and projections in real time”.

The decoration is signed by Raul Cioaba,architect and scenographer, with a professional career built at the intersection of architecture, design and the performing arts. He graduated from the Faculty of Architecture of the Politehnica University of Timisoara, where he followed both his bachelor's and master's studies.

His professional experience in architecture has been built in several international contexts, through collaborations with offices in Madrid, Berlin and Amsterdam. Since 2020 he has been working as a freelancer, developing in parallel a practice oriented towards scenography and interdisciplinary projects.

In the area of performing arts, he created the set design for projects such as "Kafka - Letter to Father" (directed by Cătălin Bocirnea), "Canine" (directed by Botond Nagy, National Theater in Târgu Mureș), Woman - Battlefield (directed by Botond Nagy, National Theater in Iași).

An important component of his recent work is his collaboration with director Bobi Pricop. The two have worked together on shows such as "Toto" at the Masca Theatre in Bucharest, "Anticlimax" at the Romanian Dramaturgs' Theatre, "Nora" at the National Theatre in Târgu-Mureș and "I Believe in Unicorns" at the Ion Creangă Theatre in Bucharest. 

For "MaRó", the collaboration between Raul Cioabă and Bobi Pricop thus continues an artistic dialogue begun in previous projects and based on the construction of dynamic, conceptual stage spaces that aim to amplify the dramaturgical universe of the show.

Music and video design belong to him Alin Sterian (iRonic Distorted), who is in his second collaboration with the Regina Maria Theater, after the "Dețeptarea" project, where he signed the music, sound & video design, but also the poster concept.

He is a multidisciplinary artist, director and music producer from Romania, known for his fusion between music and visual arts.

As a video director, Alin has collaborated with artists such as Cojo, Delia, Deliric, Spike, Silent Strike, creating memorable visuals that transcend barriers between genres and formats. His artistic concept is based on experimentation and unconventional collaborations.

The costumes are made by Cristina Breteanu, who has been working in the world of theater for almost ten years, and her costumes can be seen on stages in Romania and Hungary. A graduate of the Faculty of Arts - Department of Visual Arts in Oradea and UNATC Bucharest, she built her professional career around scenography and costume design, collaborating with numerous theater institutions.

At the Szigligeti Theatre in Oradea, where he began his career, he created costumes for the performances of the institution's three troupes – Nagyvárad, Szigligeti and Liliput. In parallel, he collaborated with theatres in the country and in Hungary, developing a visual universe in which the costume becomes an essential part of the story and the construction of the character.

Beyond theater, Cristina Breteanu is interested in fashion and painting. Her clothing creations have been worn by Romanian representatives at international competitions, and her paintings have been presented in exhibitions in Oradea and Bucharest.

„"MaRó" marks Cristina Breteanu's third meeting with the Regina Maria Theater, after creating the costumes for the shows "Tenderness" and "The Suitor".

Lighting design is done by Nichita Teodorescu, a graduate of the "Marin Sorescu" Art High School in Craiova and the Media Performance program at the University of Bedfordshire, United Kingdom. During his studies, he approached the field of lighting design, gradually discovering the potential of light as a tool of expression and an integral part of the construction of a show.

Returning to Romania, he continued his activity as a freelancer, collaborating with 4Music and the "Marin Sorescu" National Theater in Craiova. Later, he settled in Bucharest, where he deepened his professional training, graduating from the Lighting and Sound Design program at UNATC. His career thus brings together experience in the area of media production with theatrical training, in a constant concern for the relationship between light, space and the dramaturgy of the show.

He is currently part of the Apart Productions team, being involved in large-scale festival and concert productions and creating lighting concepts for events and artists. In parallel, he continues to sign lighting design for theater performances, a field that remains one of his main passions.

In 2026, he was awarded the UNITER Award for Best Lighting Design, for the show "Winter" by Jon Fosse, directed by Hunor Horváth, produced by the "Radu Stanca" National Theatre in Sibiu. For the show "MaRó", he is responsible for the lighting design.

The show "MaRó" marks his first collaboration with the Regina Maria Theater and the Szigligeti Theater, as well as with the other members of the creative team.

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The cast includes the actors of the Iosif Vulcan Troupe and the Szigligeti Troupe: Richard Balint, Balogh Attila, Giorgiana Coman, Fodor Réka, Ioana Dragoș Gajdo, Hunyadi István, Máthé Barbara, Eugen Neag, Răzvan Vicoveanu, Szotyori József, Tasnády-Sáhy Noémi, Tőtős Ádám 

Show recommended for people over 12 years old!

Premiere date: October 17 and 18, Great Hall of the Regina Maria Theater in Oradea
The next performances are scheduled for October 24, 25 and 31, from 7:00 PM, at the Great Hall.

Tickets can be purchased from the theater agency or online, on the website Queen Maria Theatre or on the poftimcultura.ro platform.

We are waiting for you at the theater!