Director: RADU GHILAȘ
Date: 30 April 2017
Run time: one hour 20 minutes
«This vaudeville by A.P. Chekhov can be considered a study of marriage as a pact, a freely agreed alliance between man and woman, more than a union, not in a spiritual sense, but rather in a pragmatic, material one. Before the signature and the “yeses” we have, first, demand and supply. Ivan Vassilievich Lomov decides to ask for the hand of Stepan Stepanovich Chubukov’s daughter, Natalia Stepanova, bringing into question, of course, the “dowry”, Oxen Meadows, which leads to a series of conflicts and tensions, based on a game of power and domination.
The stage version transforms the tragedy of the situation, given the comic treatment, into the comic of a situation dealt with in a tragic form, revealing a political marriage, keeping the leitmotiv “dowry”, a plot of land which, although fiercely claimed by many parties, does not belong to any of the characters and yet it causes gains or losses, marriage or divorce, peace or war. War and tensions end by alliance, by pact, by consent.
What is actually at stake in this marriage and what are the advantages of each party, which of the hounds is better, Otkatai or Ugadai (who in this staging are two actual characters, two alter egos, who communicate with their masters through music and dance) these are just some of the questions that build a dynamic, complete show, where laughter, accordion and violin preserve the joy and pleasure of life. »
Cast:
Stepan Stepanovich Chubukov – Emil Coşeru
Natalia Stepanovna – Cezara Fantu
Ivan Vassilievich Lomov – Codrin Dănilă
Otkatai – Diana Bucur
Ugadai – Ștefana Mihai
Director – Radu Ghilaş
Stage design – Cătălin Târziu
Choreography – Lorette Enache
Music score – Dragoş Cohal