The Regina Maria Theatre invites you on Saturday, July 4, from 7:00 PM, to enjoy the first show created especially for online viewing: "The Snake in the Grass" by Alan Ayckbourn, artistic direction: Sebastian Lupu. The next performance has been scheduled for July 26, from the same time, also online.

The author of THE SNAKE IN THE GRASS, Alan Ayckbourn, is a prolific British playwright, who has written over 80 plays and is globally acclaimed for his literary creations. He is also noted as a director, especially at SJT (Stephen Joseph Theatre), named after director Stephen Joseph, whom Alan Ayckbourn had as a mentor and who encouraged him to start writing plays. He is the recipient of numerous awards including two Olivier Awards, two Molière Awards and a special Tony Award for a lifetime dedicated to the theatre. He continues to write and direct shows at SJT, his most recent play, "Anno Domino", directed by himself, is available online in a radio version. 

The play THE SNAKE IN THE GRASS is a psychological thriller that captivates through the subtlety of the characters' intentions and the depth of the mosaic of emotions that enhance the tension and suspense that can be felt throughout the entire story.

Two sisters, separated by distance and especially the memory of an unhappy childhood, reunite after the recent death of their father. Rediscovering memories that connect them to their parental home, they begin to reveal feelings that stir up the dark past of a life lived with a domineering and emotionally unavailable father.

We might think that this meeting is therapeutic, through which the emotional traumas of the two women will be soothed, but the appearance of their father's former nurse, who cunningly plants doubt in the older sister's mind, causes a surprising turn of events.

„"The Snake in the Grass" is also part of the repertoire of other cultural institutions: the "Fani Tardini" Dramatic Theatre in Galați, the Bulandra Theatre and the "Radu Stanca" National Theatre in Sibiu, being well received by the theatre world and the public. The premiere of the Iosif Vulcan Troupe is, however, a novelty in Romania, this project being a pioneering exercise in the field of performing arts due to the way it is realized. Due to the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 epidemic, the organization of events in closed spaces was not allowed, so the innovative skills of the artistic team members were directed towards discovering an optimal solution in the conception of the show THE SNAKE IN THE GRASS, namely an online premiere. The management of the Regina Maria Theatre responded positively to the proposal of actor Sebastian Lupu – as it has done on other occasions – to stage a text with such potential.

The show THE SNAKE IN THE GRASS is the first directing project that Sebastian Lupu undertakes after returning to the stage, having had to retire for a period of time to recover from a cerebral aneurysm. Thus, if for the entire team involved in the production of the show this represents a soul project, for Sebastian Lupu it is a rediscovery of himself, a way of recovering through art, how else than by living it, creating it.

It's a huge pleasure to be together with your colleagues and create a story that so many viewers will enjoy! I've been doing this for 23 years and every time it's a unique and so personal celebration!

But when I also happen to be the one who has the privilege of being the "main creator", when your colleagues, your brothers, those with whom you have lived and nourished for decades on the same holy plank, let themselves be guided and conquered by the way you tell the story and give you all their trust, throwing themselves with their eyes closed into an adventure that only you know initially, well, then there is every chance that a completely and utterly special show will be born! – Sebastian Lupu

The cast includes the following actresses: Mirela Niță Lupu (Miriam), Anda Tămășanu (Alice) and Angela Tanko (Annabel).

Miriam from "The Snake in the Grass" is for me that character I said "I have to bring her to life." She is a mixture of love, interest, passion, manipulation, sincerity, hypocrisy, dedication, selfishness, a real challenge.

„"The Snake in the Grass" has gathered passionate and dedicated people and I am convinced that it will be loved as much by the audience as we who bring it to life.. – Mirela Nita Lupu

„"The Snake in the Grass" means a dedicated, passionate and very dear team to me, who worked unitedly and methodically. I came across a text and a pretext that proves to me once again, as an actress and as a person, that I really have an appetite for scores that reveal the ungrateful, the histrionic, that "hard to defend". Alice is for me a surprising challenge. – Anda Tamasanu

„"The Snake in the Grass" is a performance of a life topic possible for anyone.                    

A beautiful journey, traveled alongside my high-quality acting colleagues, led by Sebastian Lupu, in whom I see a man and a director full of professional qualities.

 These are new stage situations to which we all contributed wonderfully, and I hope we bring the subject of the play to the interest of those who will watch it.  – Angela Tanko

The artistic team is completed by Oana Cernea (scenography) and Romeo Rîmbu (original music).

The set design for the show "The Snake in the Grass" was a strange challenge for me. Used to designing the set design for a show without social distancing restrictions, without imagining a space where actors can only interact from a distance of 3 meters, I had to adapt a space that would breathe at once with the text and Sebastian Lupu's directorial ideas.

However, in a certain sense "distanced" I think we are always learning to be a team, we are getting closer in ideas, in art, we are creating an atmosphere that we want to convey to others. This is what theater is all about and this expresses every effort from the wonderful people who are part of the team of the show "The Snake in the Grass". Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this! – Oana Cernea

Tickets were only on sale online at www.bilete.ro. The footage will be uploaded to YouTube and will only be available starting at 7:00 PM, and one hour before the broadcast begins, viewers who have purchased tickets will receive an email with the link to access the video.

We invite you to experience the magic of the online scene with us!

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Ramona Nemes
PR secretary
Queen Marie Theatre
e-mail: [email protected] 
website: www.teatrulreginamaria.ro