The month of June brings good news for theater lovers and eager spectators will see their favorite actors performing live again, after a break of several months. This week, outdoor rehearsals have already taken place at the Oradea Citadel, where several members of the Iosif Vulcan Troupe met to prepare to perform the first shows that can be adapted to hygiene and social distancing conditions.

The performances of the Iosif Vulcan Troupe that will be resumed and will be played on the mobile stage located in the inner courtyard of the Oradea Citadel in June are:

• CHRISTIANS by Lucas Hnath, directed by Radu Iacoban
• THE WIZARD OF OZ, script and artistic direction: Dan Mirea
• LEONCE AND LENA – CONCERT, screenplay by Mihai Măniuțiu and Ada Milea after Georg Büchner, directed by Mihai Măniuțiu
• IN FULL GLORY! by Peter Quilter, directed by: Cristian Ioan

Viewers will also be able to enjoy a re-adapted version of the show. LOVERS FROM ANCONA by Vajda Katalin, directed by Andrei Mihalache.

Both the exact program for June, as well as additional information about how to purchase tickets and the conditions under which the events organized by the Regina Maria Theater will take place, will be announced during the following week.

Meanwhile, on the Facebook page Queen Marie Theatre Live footage of the performances that are part of the archive is broadcast, and public access to these broadcasts is free. 

 Wednesday, June 3, 7:00 PM – ONLINE (Facebook) +15
CANCUN by Jordi Galcerán, directed by: Theodor Cristian Popescu

Wednesday, June 10, 7:00 PM – ONLINE (Facebook) +15
Suffocation (Diary of a Chronic Suicidal Person) dramatization by Ovidiu Caița after "Suffocation" by Chuck Palahniuk

Wednesday, June 17, 7:00 PM – ONLINE (Facebook)
COMET by Justine del Corte

Wednesday, June 24, 7:00 PM – ONLINE (Facebook)
AND WHAT DO WE DO WITH THE CELLO? by Matei Vișniec, directed by: Petru Vutcărău

We remind our viewers that after the live broadcast ends, each recording will remain available until the next day at 7:00 AM. 

We look forward to seeing you again at the outdoor shows. Until then, be careful, optimistic and serene. Stay close!

During this period when most activities that can be transferred to home are taking place online, including courses through the "Teleșcoala" project, the Regina Maria Theater supports teachers, students and parents in Bihor County through the "Theatre and Education" campaign.

Through this initiative, we want to make available to all students in Oradea and Bihor County, free of charge, most of the titles that are part of the Romanian Language and Literature curriculum - middle school and high school grades, and at the same time promote the importance of reading and the arts.

Art, in all its forms, brings us closer to each other, finds common ground between the most distant natures and mentalities, and teaches us to give others a chance, to be the other, to create a connection with characters who inspire or amaze us, and this gift it offers us is priceless.

With these motivations as the main driving force in our action to promote theater and education, the entire month of April is dedicated to literature. The actors of the Iosif Vulcan Troupe will film themselves reading literary works such as "The Wonderful Grove" by Mihail Sadoveanu, "Animal Farm" by George Orwell, "The Moromeții" by Marin Preda or "Iona" by Marin Sorescu. The films will be promoted on the Facebook page "Theatre and Education" and are intended exclusively for students, parents and teachers from Bihor County as support in the teaching and learning process for the capacity and baccalaureate exams.

Through the Bihor County School Inspectorate, the Regina Maria Theatre has created its own database with schools in Bihor County and parents, students or teachers of Romanian Language and Literature will be able to request access to the platform where these recordings will be uploaded, at the email address [email protected].

The materials that are part of the Theater and Education campaign are intended for free use by members of the target audience and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted or published without the written consent of the Regina Maria Theater. It is prohibited to copy, distribute, transmit, publish, reproduce, create derivative works from any information that is part of the Theater and Education campaign.

However, it is possible to download or copy specific materials available in this regard, which are intended exclusively for personal, non-commercial purposes. Their use for commercial purposes is prohibited.

The titles that you can find already published are:

• The Fountain Among the Poplars – Mihail Sadoveanu (Mirela Niță Lupu)
• Hagi Tudose – Barbu Șt. Delavrancea (Richard Balint)
• At Mânjola's Inn – IL Caragiale (Alexandru Rusu)
• The Story of Harap-Alb – Ion Creangă (Sebastian Lupu) – two parts
• The Last Night of Love, the First Night of War – Camil Petrescu (Carina Bunea) – six parts
• Iona by Marin Sorescu (Sorin Ionescu and Denisa Vlad)
• Prince Charming from Tears – Mihai Eminescu (Adela Lazar)
• The Morometians – Marin Preda (Gabriela Codrea)
• The Ox and the Calf; The Dog and the Puppy; The Bear and the Fox – Grigore Alexandrescu (Anca Sigmirean)
• Sumki – Amos Oz (Anda Tamășanu)
• Chirița in the province – Vasile Alecsandri (Petre Ghimbașan)

 The Regina Maria Theater has the honor of inviting you to a special musical evening, which will take place on Wednesday, March 4, at 6:30 PM, at the Arcadia Hall: the "Spring Voices" recital show.

We will travel through the lyrical universe guided by the voice of actress Gabriela Codrea, who will recite poems from Cristian Bădiliță's love lyrics, which will be harmoniously accompanied by the voices of soprano Alina Roșca and baritone Vlad David in an event full of emotion, in which the dialogue between poetry and music will create a warm and positive atmosphere.

On Dragobete, the Regina Maria Theatre has two reasons to celebrate! Today the nominations for a new edition – the XXVIIIth – of the UNITER Awards were announced, and in the Best Supporting Actor category we find our colleague Răzvan Vicoveanu, with the role of Joshua in the show CHRISTIANS by Lucas Hnath, directed by Radu Iacoban. 

The show Christians had its first performance in November and was staged at the Regina Maria Theater in its national premiere. The main role, that of Pastor Paul, is played by Richard Balint, last year’s winner of the UNITER award for “Best Supporting Actor”, with the role of Mr. Lockhart in the play “The Navigator” by Conor McPherson (directed by Cristian Juncu, a show by the National Theater Târgu Mureș – “Liviu Rebreanu” Company). Pastor Paul confesses to the parishioners who attend the church he leads that he has insecurities about several “truths of faith” and this confession arouses contradictory reactions among the listeners. The first to dare to confront him is Associate Pastor Joshua, played by Răzvan Vicoveanu, a young man beloved by both the church council and many of those present at the sermon that Sunday. Although in some aspects he denotes behavior that leads to extremes, Joshua made his way into people's hearts through the efforts he dedicated himself to the sick, the poor, and generally to all those who needed to be listened to or guided.

When, following a vote by those present, Joshua leaves the church, one of the council members, old Jay (played by Petre Ghimbășan), campaigns for his return, trying to remind Pastor Paul of the value of the young man he expelled:

"Joshua is, in a way, your spiritual son. You're the one who saved him. He came to this church alone and sought support, friends. If I remember correctly, he had been kicked out of his own home because of some... very serious problems. And I remember this boy coming here, approaching the altar and saying to us: I need something, I don't know exactly why, but I need that thing to help me move on. And that man came to every service. Every Sunday and then Sunday and Wednesday and then Friday and little by little, you gave him more and more responsibility in our church, a prayer at the Sunday service, a seat on the board, you let him read from the Bible, even a sermon, and then you named him associate pastor. And we all agree that he worked hard and deserved this place.”

Răzvan Vicoveanu's role is a complex one, with associate pastor Joshua gradually becoming known to the audience, and Răzvan manages to convey the character's emotions each time, in a natural way, and with each entry into the scene we see him transformed. At first he rebels, apparently exaggeratedly, causing a schism in the church that adopted him, turning against the very one who gave him the most credit: pastor Paul. However, we will later find out that the reasons why Joshua reacts this way are other than those we imagine. His life until entering pastor Paul's church led him to create barriers and strongly rooted beliefs, which serve to support him, and he has a visceral need for them. For him, questioning one of his fundamental beliefs is not at the level of philosophical curiosity, but strikes at the very foundation of his existence. At the end of the show, Joshua returns to Pastor Paul, trying to find a solution to the situation in the church and offers viewers some enlightening information:

“Your parents were Christians, and so were their parents. Your grandmother brought you to church for the first time, everyone wanted you to get saved, and you had nothing to lose by believing what you believed. But me. I lost everything. My parents didn’t believe what I believed. And I tried. I tried over and over to show them the way, to guide them toward God. That’s all I wanted, until the end. That’s what I tried.”

The fact that he failed to convert his parents and that his mother, on her deathbed, preferred to banish him rather than make a confession of faith, left an irreparable mark on Joshua. The memory of the moment when his mother died and seeing in her eyes the fear, horror and pain does not allow him to easily deal with the questioning of the existence of the afterlife as it has been preached until now. 

Throughout the show, Associate Pastor Joshua manages to attract disapproval, revolt, sympathy, compassion and ultimately, even support from the audience at the expense of Pastor Paul. The effort made by Răzvan Vicoveanu to create a role with so many substrata is well distributed and rightly appreciated. 

Congratulations Răzvan, congratulations to the entire team of the show "Creștini" and much success in the future!