The play “Cruelty and Tenderness” is a contemporary reinterpretation of Sophocles’ “The Trachineans,” by Martin Crimp, which updates the ancient Greek tragedy and puts it in relation to the political climate of today’s world. Sophocles’ character, Deianeira, thus becomes, in Crimp’s reinterpretation, Amelia, the wife of a general. Housed in a temporary house near an international airport, as she receives more information about the general’s war activities, she devises a plan to bring him home. Her love for him becomes clouded by doubt and hatred when she learns that her high-ranking husband has initiated a military attack on a strategic city not only for political but also sentimental reasons.

Distribution:

Amelie: Alina Leonte
General: Alin Stanciu
James: Tudor Manea
Richard: Eugen Neag
Jonathan: Ciprian Ciuciu
DOMESTIC (Rachel): Adela Lazar
Masseuse (Cathy): Anda Tamasanu
Manicurist (Nicola): Giorgiana Coman
Lael: Carina Bunea

Artistic director: Andrei Dinu
Scenography: Hanna Nistor
Set design assistant: Răzvan Chendrean
Stage movement and choreography: Raul Hotcaș
Graphics and animations: Alex V. Miclăuș

Premiere date: August 24, 2024, Transilvania Hall
Duration: 1h 40 min.