Between October 9-16, the Iosif Vulcan Troupe of the Regina Maria Theatre invites Oradea spectators to the first edition of the AUTHOR'S PORTRAIT Festival, which will bring to the stage performances from the country, as well as productions by the Iosif Vulcan Troupe.

The event includes two sections: AUTHOR PORTRAIT and IOSIF VULCAN GROUP PORTRAIT.

AUTHOR PORTRAIT of this first edition of the festival is dedicated to Florian Zeller, French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, theater and film director, "the most fascinating playwright of our time" according to Times magazine.

This section will include three performances staged after texts written by Florian Zeller. The first invited performance is father, directed by Radu Iacoban of the "Ioan Slavici" Classical Theatre in Arad, a moving story of a man suffering from dementia. The psychological drama was screened last year under the directorial guidance of the author himself and was an impressive success: 63 nominations and 25 awards, including two Academy Awards for the lead role (Anthony Hopkins) and the supporting role (Olivia Colman). The film won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, out of a total of six nominations.

The premiere of the Iosif Vulcan Troupe is coming up, sonny, a text staged in its national premiere by director Bobi Pricop, which addresses the subject of depression, focusing on Nicholas, a young man whose growing struggle with mental health begins to devastate the lives of his parents, who fail to understand what is happening and try their best to help him.

The second guest show is Parent, by the Nottara Theater in Bucharest, a black farce, with a lot of language humor, which envelops a nuanced psychological drama, a disturbing and intense story about loneliness, family, and the need for affection. 

The three shows, even though they have different stories and characters, form a trilogy "that explores ways of managing reality and problems," as Florian Zeller puts it. 

PORTRAIT OF THE IOSIF VULCAN GROUP, the second component of the festival, includes the four newest productions of the Iosif Vulcan Troupe: the show Tom's Vinegar by Caryl Churchill, directed by Dragoș Alexandru Mușoiu – which was selected to be part of the program of this year's edition of the National Theatre Festival –, Accusative gender, text and direction: Mimi Brănescu, The Threepenny Opera, Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, stage direction Victor Ioan Frunză and the premiere Until death do us part, by Pozsgai Zsolt, directed by Daniel Vulcu, based on one of the playwright's most famous plays, Liselotte and May. 

AUTHOR PORTRAIT PROGRAM

Sunday, October 9, 7 p.m. – Main Hall (with the audience on stage)
father, by Florian Zeller, directed by Radu Iacoban – Ioan Slavici Classical Theatre Arad

Monday, October 10, 7 p.m. – Main Hall (with the audience on stage)
father, by Florian Zeller, directed by Radu Iacoban – Ioan Slavici Classical Theatre Arad

Monday, October 10, 7 p.m. – Transilvania Hall | NATIONAL PREMIERE
sonny, by Florian Zeller, directed by Bobi Pricop – Regina Maria Theater, Iosif Vulcan Troupe 

Tuesday, October 11, 7 p.m. – Great Hall
PARENT, by Florian Zeller, directed by Cristi Juncu – Nottara Theatre Bucharest

Wednesday, October 12, 7 p.m. – Transilvania Hall
sonny, by Florian Zeller, directed by Bobi Pricop – Regina Maria Theater, Iosif Vulcan Troupe

PROGRAM PORTRAIT OF THE IOSIF VULCAN TROPE

Wednesday, October 12, 11 am – Queen Maria Theatre Lodge Foyer
ARIEL BEHIND THE SCENES – book launch

Thursday, October 13, 7 p.m. – Great Hall
VINEGAR TOM by Caryl Churchill, directed by Alexandru Mușoiu

Friday, October 14, 7 p.m. – Great Hall
ACCUSATIVE GENDER, text and direction: Mimi Brănescu

Saturday, October 15, 12 noon – Transilvania Hall
CONFERENCE with author Zsolt Pozsgai

Saturday, October 15, 7 p.m. – Transilvania Hall | premier | with the author's presence
UNTIL DEATH DOES US PART by Pozsgai Zsolt, directed by Daniel Vulcu

Sunday, October 16, 7 p.m. – Great Hall
THE THREEPENNY OPERA by Bertolt Brecht, stage direction Victor Ioan Frunză

The performances at the Great Hall are included in a special subscription to the "Portret de autor" Festival. The price of a subscription is 110 lei and ensures access to the performances Mother, Vinegar Tom, Accusative Gender and The Threepenny Opera. Of course, tickets can also be purchased separately, just like for the other shows. Ticket prices range between 35 and 50 lei, have already been put on sale and can be purchased from the theater agency (0359 452 324) Tuesday and Thursday: 12-18, Wednesday and Friday: 10-14 and Saturday: 11-13 or online at www.eventim.ro.

Florian Zeller (b. 1979, Paris) is a playwright, novelist, screenwriter, theater and film director, he wrote his first play when he was 18. In 2004, he won the Interallié Prize for the novel The fascination of evil, signed the script for his first directed film in 2020, father, an adaptation of the play of the same name, also written by him, starring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman. The film won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, out of a total of six nominations. He has also translated plays by Ibsen, Molière, Von Horvath, Chekhov and Yasmina Reza. The magazine Times -called "the most fascinating playwright of our time." 

Pozsgai Zsolt (September 20, 1960, Pecs) is a Hungarian writer, playwright, theatre and film director, and film producer. He organized and led an amateur theatre in Pécs since childhood, until 1982, when he was employed at the National Theatre of Pécs as a playwright.

His first play, titled "Horatio", was directed by Péter Tömöry and performed at the Hevesi Sándor Theatre in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary in 1988, with great success. He continued to write plays for the theatre, which were performed with great success in Hungary and were awarded numerous times. In 2000, the first premiere of one of his plays abroad took place in Graz, Austria. This premiere opened the doors of international theatre for Pozsgai.