The Iosif Vulcan troupe of the Regina Maria Theater announces the premiere of the show "Tenderness" by Alfredo Sanzol, directed by Mihai Gligan, which will take place on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at 7:00 PM, at the Transilvania Hall.

Playwright, director and current director of the National Dramatic Center in Spain, Alfredo Sanzol (b. 1972) is one of the most important contemporary authors of Spanish theater. His writings are distinguished by humor, stylistic inventiveness and a constant interest in exploring new dramatic structures.

The play "Tenderness", one of his best-known writings, was awarded the Valle-Inclán Theater Award in 2018 and was adapted into a film in 2023, directed by Vicente Villanueva.

Constructed as a romantic comedy with Shakespearean echoes, the play transforms the conflict between the sexes into a game full of humor and imagination. A queen with magical powers causes a shipwreck to save her daughters from the empire of men and retreats with them to a deserted island, determined to found a republic of women. However, the plan is turned upside down when she discovers that the island is already inhabited by three men (a father and his two sons) who have chosen isolation to avoid the suffering caused by love. Faced with this unexpected situation, the two camps are forced to rethink their beliefs, and the laws of attraction begin to work in unpredictable directions.

Beyond the satirical dimension, the show talks about the fragility of people in the face of love, about the need for closeness and about the imperfect but necessary possibility of reconciliation.

The show is directed by Mihai Gligan, a director from Cluj-Napoca, a graduate of the Faculty of Theatre and Film at UBB. His professional debut took place with the show "The Marriage" by NV Gogol, staged at the Baia Mare Municipal Theatre, a production awarded the Special Jury Prize for Direction and the Prize for Set Design at the Atelier International Theatre Festival (2022). "Tenderness" marks the director's second collaboration with the Regina Maria Theatre, after his participation as assistant director in the show "The Awakening" by Doru Vatavlui, directed by Bobi Pricop.

The adaptation of the text is done together with playwright Vlad Sălbatecu, the set design is by Előd Golicza, the costumes by Cristina Breteanu, and the sound universe is created by Richard Balint.

The cast includes the following actors:

Giorgiana Coman – Emerald Queen
Anca Sigmirean – Princess Salmon
Alina Leonte – Princess Ruby
David Constantinescu – The Brown Woodcutter
Eugen Neag – The Woodcutter Verdemarin
Pavel Sîrghi – The Blue Woodcutter

The next performances are scheduled for March 16 and 31, as well as April 25, from 7:00 PM, at the Transilvania Hall.

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

We are waiting for you at the theater!

The Iosif Vulcan troupe of the Regina Maria Theater announces the premiere of the show Broken mirror, a scenario of Roman Doljanski inspired by his work Arthur Miller, directed by one of the most important European directors of the moment, Timofey Kuliabin. The show will have its first performances on November 16 and 17, 2025, at 7:00 PM, at the Great Hall of the Regina Maria Theater, and the public interest is huge, with all tickets already sold.

Arthur Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, who combined social consciousness with a deep concern for the inner lives of his characters, his main sources of inspiration being the Greek tragedians and the common man: I believe that the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a character who is ready to give his life, if necessary, to ensure one thing: his sense of personal dignity. His writings brought him many honors throughout his life, including the Pulitzer Prize, seven Tony Awards, two Drama Critics Circle Awards, an Obie, an Olivier, the John F. Kennedy Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Award.

„"Broken Glass" (a play that has never been translated into Romanian) explores the story of a New York couple caught between marital tensions and historical awareness. In the Oradea production, the text is staged by Roman Doljanski, a playwright of Russian origin and one of the most appreciated critics and theorists of European theater, established in Europe since 2022, where he exclusively works. Roman Doljanski transposed Arthur Miller's play into an updated stage form, which enters into dialogue with contemporary reality and the ethical dilemmas of the present: "„The title of another fabulous play by the great American playwright Arthur Miller, The Price, defines the central theme of the new production entitled „The Broken Mirror”. It is about the price that those around the protagonist must pay for her healing. Can the treatment be considered a success if one person heals at the expense of the well-being of another? Where is the limit beyond which healing turns into manipulation? There is no definitive answer to this question – neither from Arthur Miller, nor from the characters, nor from the creators of the show. The goal is to ask questions and invite the audience to formulate their own answer, Roman explains.

The show is directed by the acclaimed theater and opera director, Timofey Kuliabin, who has staged on the most important stages of Europe. A graduate of the Russian Theater Academy in Moscow (GITIS), Kuliabin joined, after completing his studies, the Academic Theater "Red Torch" in Novosibirsk, where, in 2015, at just 31 years old, he was appointed artistic director, becoming the youngest artistic director of a theater in Russia at that time. Until 2022, when he was forced to resign due to his explicitly anti-war position and chose the path of exile, he staged performances both in theaters in Russia and on important stages in the German space, which brought him recognition, confirming the strength and originality of his directorial vision. Since 2022, Timofey Kuliabin operates exclusively abroad, collaborating with theaters in Germany, Switzerland, France, Greece, Estonia, Bulgaria. . In 2022, he signs an exceptional collaboration with John Malkovich for the show "In the Solitude of the Cotton Fields", staged at the Dailes Theater in Riga and subsequently presented on a tour in 12 countries. The collaboration with the Regina Maria Theater in Oradea is his second project in Romania, after "The Long Road to Night" by Eugene O'Neill staged at the "Radu Stanca" National Theater in Sibiu.

About the show he is staging in Oradea, director Timofei Kuliabin declares:

„This play can be considered a classic psychotherapeutic drama. In cinema and popular culture, especially in TV series, there are many successful examples of this genre – but in theater, almost none. The story of a doctor and his patient (or, as in this case, a female patient) almost always goes beyond the boundaries of medical practice, addressing a much wider range of problems – not only personal, but also social, historical and even philosophical. From the very beginning, we leave the audience free to know how the story will end. We do not turn Arthur Miller's narrative into a detective novel. We simply observe how events unfolded. We invite the audience to follow the nuances and deeply human character of the characters.”

The creative team also brings together other important names in contemporary theater: Timofei Pastuhov, the composer of the original music, and Oleg Golovko, the set designer who signs the visual universe of the show. The translation into Romanian belongs to him Ralucai Radulescu, translator, journalist and theatrical curator.

The cast of the show includes the actors Eugene Neag (Phillip Gellburg), Denisa Irina Vlad (Sylvia Gellburg), Razvan Vicoveanu (Dr. Harry Hyman), Anda Tamasanu (Jessica), Richard Balint (Robert Wilson) and Alexandru Rusu (Stanton Case).

The show is also scheduled for December 11 and 12, and tickets can be purchased from the theater agency (Piața Regele Ferdinand I, no. 6) and online on the Regina Maria Theater website and on the Poftim Cultură ticketing platform.

BROKEN MIRROR
a screenplay by Roman Doljanski after Arthur Miller, directed by Timofei Kuliabin

Distribution:

Phillip Gellburg: Eugen Neag
Sylvia Gellburg: Denisa Irina Vlad
Dr. Harry Hyman: Razvan Vicoveanu
Jessica: Anda Tamasanu
Robert Wilson: Richard Balint
Stanton Case: Alexandru Rusu

Directed by: Timofei Kuliabin
Screenplay: Roman Doljanski
Translation: Raluca Radulescu
Scenography: Oleg Golovko
Original music: Timofei Pastuhov

Show recommended for people over 18 years old!
Premiere date: November 16 and 17, 2025, Great Hall of the Regina Maria Theater in Oradea