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!