The Iosif Vulcan troupe of the Regina Maria Theater is preparing for the premiere of the show "Elif and the Rain" by Sami Ibrahim, directed by Alex Ianăși, scheduled for December 21 and 22, from 7:00 PM, at the Transilvania Hall.

Sami Ibrahim is a young London writer with a rising career, having already been nominated for Awards Olivier and receiving an award for political theater in 2019. Sami Ibrahim addresses themes in his texts that raise questions about pressing contemporary socio-political issues, questioning the social system that we have created and which sometimes turns against us, especially when we encounter Other.

In "Elif and the Rain" Sami Ibrahim moves away from the rigorous structures of realism and uses the stylistics of the fable to talk about migration, about the difficulty of immigrants to integrate into a society where economic dictatorship rules and where the flawed system denies the right to be treated as a human being to those who come from outside.

Elif is an immigrant who flees her country at a young age because of the dictatorship, hoping to find a place where she can regain her right to exist. But the mirage of freedom gradually turns into a struggle for validation, and she discovers how fragile the border between freedom and oppression is. The balance tilts from political to economic dictatorship, and in her fight for survival she is gradually swallowed up by a truly Kafkaesque immigration system. Fragile rescue lies in the power of stories, like Scheherazade, but harsh reality permeates her story, especially when she is put in the position of protecting her daughter.

The show's director, Alex Ianăși, is young and passionate, with clearly defined aesthetic convictions, who declares: "...I try to do my best to create useful theater. A theater that is not an artistic exercise, art for art's sake, an escape from reality. But precisely, a theater that forces us to be present in reality. A theater that opens the viewer's eyes, that makes them wonder and be horrified by the reality we live in. A theater that challenges the viewer to understand the contradictions of our society, so that they then feel obligated to transform it."

Alex Ianăși makes his debut with the show "Elif and the Rain" in professional theater, being invited by the interim manager of the Regina Maria Theater, Victoria Balint, after watching his bachelor's show "Outside, in Front of the Door", within the TNT festival - Theater Networking Talents from Craiova.

The show's creative team also includes Georgian-born set designer Tinatin Gobejishvili and lighting designer Vlad Lăzărescu.

The cast is made up of actors from the Iosif Vulcan Troupe: Anda Tămășanu, Carina Bunea, Ioana Dragoș Gajdó, George Dometi, Sorin Ionescu, Denisa Irina Vlad, Eugen Neag, Corina Cernea, Angela Tanko, Giorgiana Coman and Mihaela Gherdan.

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Elif: Anda Tamasanu
Lily: Carina Bunea
Owner: Ioana Dragoș Gajdó
Son: George Dometi
Worker: Sorin Ionescu
Woman: Denisa Vlad
Policeman: Eugen Neag
Registrars: Corina Cernea, Angela Tanko, Giorgiana Coman, Mihaela Gherdan 

Directed by: Alex Ianași
Scenography: Tinatin Gobejishvili
Music: Ovidiu Iloc
Lighting Design: Vlad Lăzărescu

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The next performances of the show "Elif and the Rain" by Sami Ibrahim, directed by Alex Ianăși, are scheduled for January 21 and 22, from 7:00 PM, at the large hall of the Regina Maria Theater in Oradea.

Tickets can be purchased online, on Eventim.ro (https://www.eventim.ro/ro/bilete/elif-si-ploaia-oradea-sala-transilvania-657605/event.html) or from the theater agency (Monday: 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM/Tuesday-Thursday: 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM/Wednesday-Friday: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM or one hour before the start of the show).

We look forward to seeing you at the theater!