Artistic sorcery and Oriental occultism, nicely packaged in the new premiere of the National Theater of Cluj-Napoca, entitled - in a doubly enticing manner - Shamanistic Songs and The Quest. In the intimacy of the Euphorion Studio, the Turkish director Çağlar Yiğitoğulları has created the proper atmosphere for a series of shamanistic rituals inspired by the Persian poem The Conference of the Birds by Farid ud-Din Attar (translated by Ramona Tripa). The Oriental scents greet you as soon as you step into the room, while the actors' costumes take you back to immemorial times. Most of the musical instruments used in the show are percussion instruments (both ancient and modern), suggesting the importance of rhythm as the prime musical element. The entire cast interpreted the delicate melodies, while the rhythm was always ritualistic, as suggested by the director and amplified on stage (...). The simplicity of the lyrics is endowed with a fabulous amplitude and healing echoes when interpreted by the actors. Zen enlightenment ensues, being driven by the declamation of the lines, which is never didactic (...). The shamanistic rhythm creates the mystery, the magic, because, without doubt, theater is by and large a form of magic. The "shamanistic songs" brought onstage by Çağlar Yiğitoğulları help us remember this through the intercultural dialogue they rely on, as well as by reaffirming life's essential values, regardless of our geographic location. It hurts, but it's beautiful becomes a dictum, pointing to the indetermination and thrill of existence. The initiation proposed by the shaman-director is a show and a meditation at the same time and was well-received by the public. The spectators resonated with the message, sang along and applauded enthusiastically. The spell was successful.
Adrian Țion, Shamanistic Rhythms,
in the newspaper Făclia, April 15th 2023
Tudor Lucanu is purposefully pursuing hermetic expressivity and condensed language, so that the six initial characters are replaced by two phantomatic apparitions (with masks, without masks), confined to a room made of mirrors, so that their reflections and the light make them seem plural (...) a cube made of mirrors, an alcove-cube, filled with shiny silks, with surfaces which reflect our own images (...) The game of the masks and the unleashed anger once the truth comes to light - with trash being thrown around - make the action all the more tense; thus, the text's narrative linearity is hidden under multiple layers. The dynamic scenes are intertwined with the dialogue, which also takes place within the mirror-cube, showing the true proportions of the conflict. Thus, the set - the silk which drapes the floor, representing the dark cape of death - is visually expressive. This is just one of the elements which grant the show its refined quality.
Adrian Țion, Theatre between Mirrors,
in Făclia, April 10th 2023
Realitatea năvălește pe scenă... regizor, sufleur, regizor tehnic, plasatoarea, instaurând personaje în „căutarea" unui mereu alt regizor. E bună prima variantă, cu sugestii mirobolante? Bine zice cineva „dați jos comunismul de pe Shakespeare!". Nici chiar așa, nu totul se pretează la orice, însă nici o interpretare facilă, schematică, rezumativă, nu aduce folos. Care variantă convine? Dezbaterea rămâne deschisă, îmblânzirea crește exponențial în multe sensuri, categorii, iar parodia naște o „explozie de idei" (bine crede Leta Popescu). (...) Un spectacol captivant, provocator, revigorator.
Alexandru Jurcan, „Dați jos comunismul de pe Shakespeare!",
în revista Tribuna, nr. 494, 1-15 apr.2023
