by Nedialko Yordanov
Translation: Elvira Rîmbu

Artistic direction and musical illustration: Petru Vutcărău
Scenography: Oana Cernea
Premiere date: 05.03.2010

Through an intertextual game and the "theater within a theater" procedure, "The Murder of Gonzago" refers to the most famous Shakespearean tragedy, "Hamlet", presenting an alternative and enriched version of the events that take place at the royal court of Denmark. "The Murder of Gonzago" is the title of the play that Prince Hamlet requests from the actors who have arrived in Elsinore, its purpose being to expose the vile deed committed by his uncle and mother, the current royal couple. Most of the action takes place "behind the scenes" and depicts an unsuspected series of intrigues and conflicts that shake both the nobility at the court and the troupe of artists. The suspicions present from the beginning within the troupe are confirmed when, during the performance, the actors are accused of an anti-royal plot and arrested. The investigation that follows and the tortures they are subjected to force them to renounce their names, their professions, their entire identities, a symbolic disappearance that is strikingly close to the physical, definitive one. In an interview with Radio Bulgaria, playwright Nedialko Yordanov considers The Murder of Gonzago to be the best play he has written: "I like this play because it represents the fate of actors and the relationship between creativity and political power. In addition, the play talks about the urge to sacrifice one's friends and about the cost and price of art."

Distribution:

Charles:  Richard Balint
Elizabeth:  Elvira Platon Rîmbu
Benvolio:  Petre Ghimbasan
Henry:  Razvan Vicoveanu
Amalia:  Denisa Vlad
The prompter:  Pavel Sirghi
Polonius:  Ovidiu Ghinita
Ophelia:  Angela Tanko
Horatio:  Sorin Ionescu
The executioner:  Sebastian Wolf
The King:  Andrian Locovei
Queen:  Mirela Nita Lupu
Hamlet, A Spy, A Torturer:  Ciprian Ciuciu
A spy, a torturer:  Iulian Simionica

Technical director: Alexandru Rois
Prompter: Iuliana Chelu
Lighting: Sorin Precup, Sandor Attila Nagy, Adrian Pintea
Sound: Sorin Domide