Comedy by Nikolai Erdman
Translation: CCBuricea-Mlinarcic
National premiere

Artistic direction: Cornel Mihalache
Assistant artistic director: Eugen Harizomenov
Scenography: Vioara Bara
Musical illustration: Cornel Mihalache and Eugen Harizomenov
Premiere date: November 7, 1991

A modern play with a composite structure, "We Are Urgently Looking for a Communist Son-in-Law" ("The Mandate") depicts, in a mixture of styles, ranging from 19th-century European vaudeville to Russian comedy, with notes of humor typical of cabaret shows, as well as grotesque elements from the tradition of tragicomic farce, the confusion of Russian society that followed the great historical upheaval produced by the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.

From the historical crossroads they find themselves at, the characters do not know what the future will bring: a stabilization of the newly established Soviet regime, or a failure of the revolution and a return to their familiar state (a symbol of this state of affairs is a painting in the Gulyachikin family apartment, depicting "A Night in Copenhagen" on one side and the portrait of Karl Marx on the other). In this social earthquake, both the old Tsarist aristocracy and families of more modest origin seek solutions for preservation or advancement among the most diverse, but equal to a simple and useless self-deception. Pavel Gulyachikin and his people believe that joining the communist party and being related to an aristocratic family will ensure their well-being; on the contrary, the aristocratic camp hopes that misalliance (and the marriage of a family member to an authentic communist) will improve their social origin, considered unhealthy. In this sense, dominated by personal interest, Pavel Guliacikin wants to be a communist at all costs, even presenting a mandate to prove his membership in the party.

Attached to the past, nostalgic for the Tsarist era, Tamara, Nadezhda Petrovna's friend, brings a dress that once belonged to Empress Alexandra to her house, to be kept safe. The cook Anastasia, trying on the dress, is mistaken for the empress's daughter, and this is where the farce begins...

Distribution:

Pavel Gulyachikin:  Petre Panait
Nadezhda Petrovna:  Mariana Vasile
Barbara:  Ileana Iurciuc
Ivan Ivanovich:  Eugen Harizomenov
Nastya:  Oana Mereuta
Tamara:  Mariana Neagu 
Smetanici:  Marcel Popa
Valerian:  Dorin Presecan
Anatoly:  Doru Firte
Antonin Sigismundovich:  Nicolae Barosan
Agafangel:  Nicholas Thomas
Feliciata Gordeeava, The Woman with the Parrot, Aunt:  Alla Tautu
Ariadne:  Ofelia Fîrte
The Flasher:  Eugen Tugulea
In other roles:  Ion Ruscut and the child Alexandru Firte

Technical director: Florin Popescu
Prompter: Iuliana Chelu
Lighting: Vasile Blejan, Iosif Balogh, Laviniu Goron
Sound: Stelian Panea