by Molière
translated to Romanian by Victor Eftimiu și Petru Manoliu
director: Silviu Purcărete
set and costume design: Dragoș Buhagiar
music: Vasile Șirli
assistant director: Tudor Lucanu
musical training: Incze G. Katalin
second assistant director: Tudor Antofie
stage manager: Vlad Negrea
lights technician: Jenel Moldovan, Mădălina Mânzat
sound technician: Marius Rusu
sound assistant: Vasile Crăciun
prompter: Irina Barbir
photo for the poster: Claudiu Guraliuc
In Amphitryon,different comical modes intersect to highlight the romantic plot. There is a constant, well-exploited tension between the text's comical nature and the moral, serious subtextual implications. Seduction, adultery and jealousy alternate and produce diverse rhythms, while the gods' passions and the mortals' weaknesses are commented on in a playful manner, which progresses toward irony and solemnity. The choir channels the ambiguous motivations of the main characters, generating an impeccable oscillatory dance between friendly complicity and obvious hostility. The story is simple: Jupiter (Ionuț Caras), the supreme god, who is used to satisfying his erotic whims by any means necessary, turns into Amphitryon (Matei Rotaru), in order to seduce his beautiful wife, Alcmena (Sânziana Tarța). As a result of the ensuing battle of the egos, the woman ends up at the mercy of the superior entities, both divine and human, who are actually disputing the property rights to her existence.
"The question is: who am I and who is the other? What's the difference between us? What makes me unique to my partner? But these are questions that have no exact answer. They are light subjects for meditation. Light, because they are framed as a comedy. [...] The show is a sketch of the actual play, an unfinished sketch, which was generated by the team, of course, since this is where everything began."
Silviu Purcărete always manages to create a personal, easily recognizable universe, where the magic of the show - which he commands so flawlessly - relies on very few dramatic means: the light which seems to come from the magician's hat, stage movement and unexpected angles, a surprising resolution, a profound and always new and alive interpretation of the text. The director's vision selects the meanings of the text and guides the spectator towards a subtle understanding of the entire story. All these instruments, which make up Purcărete's aesthetic, are used gracefully and poetically, while also paying attention to each and every actor, from the protagonist to the secondary characters, in order to create a balanced, fluid, intelligent structure, with humorous details and accents.
Adriana Moca, Theatrical Perspectives from Cluj, in Perspective - an online platform about theater, the arts, life and other demons...
The flight of fancy is replaced here by the pursuit of essence. A genuine pursuit and an invitation to meditate. [...] The show appears as a satire, under the guise of a mythical tale, initially written by Jean-Baptiste Poquelin about Ludovic XIV's (alleged) romantic affairs. However, Silviu Purcărete made the story into a solemn and ironic version of this legend built on the theme of adultery.
Adrian Țion, Silviu Purcărete in Cluj, in Făclia, no. 9861/June 2nd 2023
The show has some memorable scenes - visual, ethereal, relevant. The entropic space is gradually pulverized, illuminating the meanings of the play and ensuring the show's coherence. The actors play their roles onstage, in front of the curtain, as well as... in the air, levitating in the most surprising way [...] Silviu Purcărete has managed to design new garments for his old show from Palais-Royal, keeping its meanings but sublimating them: his own brand of recognizable alchemy.
A tragic comedy is born on the stage of the "Lucian Blaga" National Theater of Cluj-Napoca, directed by Silviu Purcărete. The show oscillates between the seriousness of the subtext and playfulness, which could not be absent from a universe of unleashed eros. Adultery, jealousy, and sensuality come together in a game played by the gods and the humans alike, while also revealing the dynamic of several romantic couples.
At first glance, the show Amphitryon, directed by Silviu Purcărete, appears to be a comedy, but it is actually a power struggle in which the actors are mere pawns, the director is the king, the critics are the bishops dissecting the possible misreadings, and the rest of the team represents the other pieces. Ultimately, they are all fighting on the chess board of public reception, trying to charm the audience.
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, also known as Molière, was born in Paris four centuries ago, in a wealthy, middle-class family, and today he continues to be the embodiment of the spirit of French and European comedy. A theater man with many artistic abilities, he dedicated his life to this art as an actor, author and director of a theater company. In an ironic and sad twist of fate, he died in 1673, after a tuberculosis episode, collapsing during a performance of The Imaginary Invalid, where he was playing the role of the hypochondriac Argan. His life, deeply immersed in the world of theater, as well as his oeuvre have given his death an important symbolic function in the history of theater and world literature. Because of a Church rule, which prevented all actors from receiving communion and being buried in the Catholic rite, Molière, the great reformer of French theater, was buried in the dead of night, amongst the graves of unbaptized children. In fact, only the king's intervention made it possible to finally bury the great writer in consecrated ground. Today, his grave is in the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris, together with other important personalities of world culture.
Although he benefitted from the protection of Ludovic XIV and his brother, Molière's best comedies have an incontestable subversive strain, attacking the clergy, the aristocracy, and, through well-calibrated allusions, the Sun King himself. For instance, many people have recognized the king in the lustful character of Jupiter in the play Amphitryon.
Molière was a controversial figure, but he was also loved by the public. However, his career did not begin with the kind of fulminant success which characterized the last period of his life. He was imprisoned because of his debts and he had to accept his father's financial help. Eventually, he found his voice drawing inspiration from various genres, such as commedia dell'arte and the Latin comedies, while also inventing his own dramatic formulas, with a significant moral and characterological component. The impact of his work is still visible in French society today, and many of his characters have become common nouns. Molière's most well-known plays, such as Tartuffe, Don Juan, The Misanthrope, Amphitryon, or The Imaginary Invalid still stimulate the creativity of some of the most important directors in contemporary theater, resulting in deeply relevant productions - aesthetically, as well as thematically.
The play Amphitryon was performed for the first time in 1668, with Molière playing the role of the servant Sosì. It was inspired by Plaut's homonymous work, which, in its turn, puts a comical spin on the myth of Hercule's conception. Jupiter, helped by Mercury, turns into Amphitryon, the commander of the Theban army, in order to seduce his wife, Alcmena. So, the gods' passions affect the lives of the mortals, generating confusion, jealousy, and passionate confrontations. The happy ending can only be achieved by accepting the adultery and by bowing to the abusive whims of the divine beings. Many have identified Ludovic XIV, the Sun King, as the real figure behind the supreme god, considering that his reckless sensuality inspired the erotic manipulations which are at the core of the play. Certain commentators have interpreted this similarity as a satire and a critique, others saw it as a flattering homage. What is certain is that, beyond the political tones and undertones, dependent on Molière's social context, the comedy was enormously successful, turning the names "Amphitryon" and "Sosì" into common nouns.
A conversation with the director Silviu Purcărete Silviu Purcărete was born on April 5th 1950 and got his directing degree at IATC in 1974. He is one of the most acclaimed Romanian directors, but his prestige is also transnational. His most well-known shows include Titus Andronicus (1992), Phaedra (1993), Pantagruel's Sister-in-Law (2003) and Faust (2007). In 2013 he directed Eugène Ionesco's Oh, What a Bloody Circus! at the National Theater of Cluj, a highly successful show which won multiple awards. Ten years later, Silviu Purcărete is once again working with the team of the National Theater, alongside his longtime collaborators, the composer Vasile Șirli and the scenographer Dragoș Buhagiar.
Emma Pedestru: To what degree is the subversive dimension of Molière's texts still effective today?
Silviu Purcărete: I think it is 100% effective, just like it was 400 years ago, but - and I know this is not politically correct - it's not just the subversive nature of his plays which matters but also their artistic and metaphysical quality, which is, in a way, even more important. Of course, Amphitryon is a comedy. It is a comedy which contains ambiguity, doubtless, it contains sadness, it speaks, like any comedy, about injustice, and of course it is subversive. It was subversive in Molière's time for political reasons, it is subversive today for politically correct reasons.
E.P:How did you choose this play?
S.P.: This is a text I fell in love with back when I was very young, when I was a student and I wanted to produce it, but I didn't get the chance. It's very rarely performed today - although it seems that Molière's own show was successful back in the day, it was performed many times. I was also drawn by the fact that it is a comedy in verse, which makes it as old-fashioned, as obsolete as possible, which interests me. And I think that Victor Eftimiu's translation is not bad at all, on the contrary. Given that the translation already exists, I thought it was worth it, we could start working on the show. But that was the point, it was always meant to be a comedy in verse.
E.P: The characters in Amphitryon actually go through an existential drama. How do you think it will be perceived today?
S.P.: What is truly scandalous, so to speak, is the destiny of the heroine, who actually disappears, she disappears from the text in the third act. Ultimately, she is the absolute victim. Of course, the question is: who am I and who is the othert? What's the difference between us? What makes me unique to my partner? But these are questions that have no exact answer. They are light subjects for meditation. Light, because they are framed as a comedy.
E.P:Is this still an open question by the end of the show? Even for the characters?
S.P.: Of course. If this were a film, the same actor would have played both roles. I don't know how Molière did it, but it is obvious that, physically speaking, you can't recreate a relationship of identity between the two characters. You can't have an identical copy of Amphitryon, embodied by Jupiter. So, there is yet another element which can confuse the audience. In the end, the spectators must believe in this overlap. Why did Alcmena allow herself to be fooled? It's a question I can't answer.
E.P.: Do you think she "allowed" herself to be fooled? That she actually wanted it?
S.P.: Possibly, although, in the end, I think she is a victim. Obviously, she was actually raped. Although these are subjects which can be discussed endlessly at conferences.
E.P:How do you choose, together with Dragoș Buhagiar and Vasile Șirli, your longtime colleagues, the symbolic valences of a show? Do you all negotiate?
S.P.: It's not a negotiation, every adventure unfolds differently. There has never been a unique method which we apply universally. Certain things are recurrent in my work... But other than that, the shows come to light gradually. Of course, we know each other very well, so that we rarely need to explain everything in detail. There are certain suggestions which we immediately get, no matter how complicated. Which makes the process easier.
E.P:What was special about this new "adventure", as you call it?
S.P.: I can only answer after the premiere. The time was short, but all the actors were as open and congenial as possible. I felt their real commitment to the show, they did everything with great pleasure and joy.
E.P: What characterizes this team?
S.P: They were always "with me". They were very disciplined and open. I know many of them because we worked together before, ten years ago. And, of course, from other shows they were in. I don't know how to make a comparative analysis, but here everything worked very well, in a very warm atmosphere. And mister Lucanu was always very helpful. I've always suffered from the absence of a good assistant, but he proved to be remarkably professional.
E.P: How did the team influence the choice of the formula, the musical?
S.P.: In fact, this is what the show is about: about a small rehearsal. That's how everything started, actually, with a workshop at the National Theater of Cluj. It is "theater within the theater", a rehearsal - the story of a rehearsal. The show is a sketch of the actual play, an unfinished sketch, which was generated by the team, of course, since this is where everything began.