DOORS OPEN DAY at the National Theatre of Cluj-Napoca
The 12th Edition
May 20th, 2022
On Friday, May 20th, the doors of the National Theatre of Cluj-Napoca will be wide open. We have missed our spectators, so you are all warmly invited to join our celebration, in person, on DOORS OPEN DAY!
Traditionally, DOORS OPEN DAY is celebrated on March 27th, on World Theatre Day. However, it is one of the events that were deeply impacted by the restrictions imposed during the pandemic. In 2021, it did not take place at all, while in 2020 we had a special online version in November. We are all the more grateful and happy that we can now reopen the theatre for such a beloved event, especially designed to facilitate an encounter between the theatre and the public, to provide novel experiences and beautiful explorations on both sides of the curtain for those who choose to pay us a visit on this day.
Just like every year, DOORS OPEN DAY will comprise both activities for our younger spectators: a theatrical performance, workshops and a creative area, face painting and balloon modelling, a bookstall by Bookstory, and events for the grownups: stage readings by the actors of the National Theatre, honouring 2022 as both Molière Year and Caragiale Year, a musical session with vinyl records, a screening of short films, and theatre shows with students from the Faculty of Theatre and Film, UBB Cluj-Napoca, both on the two stages of the National Theatre and at the Faculty of Letters. You will also have the opportunity to practise your creativity by personalising ceramic objects of your choice, provided by Ceramic Café, with a short appearance by actress Sânziana Tarța, who will draw alongside the participants.
The programme will also include the beloved backstage tours guided by the actors. This year, we are happy to announce that we will have both a tour in English and a tour translated into Ukrainian, an exhibition dedicated to the universe of the National Theatre, and an exhibition of objects made out of recycled materials, by artist Vlad Mureșan.
Given the particular historical situation that we find ourselves in, the event will also include a workshop for the youngest members of the Ukrainian community in Cluj-Napoca, which will then turn into a play and meet area for the Ukrainian community in the second half of the day.
Below, you can find the complete schedule of DOORS OPEN DAY 2022.
All the events are open to our spectators free of charge, subject to availability.
Events for the little ones:
10 a.m. – 10.45 a.m., the Great Hall
FRAM. HOW I BECAME FAMOUS, adaptation by Adrian Barbu and Alexandra Abagiu
Directed by Dana Bonțidean
Children’s theatre show (produced by Deveomedia in partnership with AnimaArt)
2+
10 a.m. – 5 p.m., foyer, second floor
Creative area for children
3+
11 a.m. – 2 p.m., foyer, second floor
Face painting and balloon modelling (The Realm of Happiness)
3+
11 a.m. – 11.50 a.m., foyer, second floor, on the left
READING AND INTERPRETATION WORKSHOP (an event by Bookstory)
With Miss Madeleine
10–15-year-olds
11 a.m. – 1 p.m., foyer, second floor, on the left
BOOKSTALL BY THE BOOKSHOP BOOKSTORY
11 a.m. – 12 p.m., foyer, second floor, on the right
Shadow play workshop (Apetit Theatre)
With Ruxandra Purdea and Enikő Takács
4-12-year-olds
12 p.m. – 2 p.m., foyer, second floor, on the left
THE WORKSHOP OF MIRACLES, activities for Ukrainian children
With Nataliia Sakovych and Kateryna Dovzhenko
4-12-year-olds
12.30 p.m. – 1.30 p.m., foyer, second floor, on the right
VLAD’S BAT creative workshop using recycled materials
With Vlad Mureșan
7+
2 p.m. – 5 p.m., foyer, second floor, on the left
Play and meet area for the Ukrainian community
Events for the grownups:
12 p.m. – 1 p.m., foyer, third floor
#SANZIANADESENEAZA (#SANZIANADRAWS) @ Ceramic Café
The actress Sânziana Tarța – special guest with Ceramic Café
2 p.m. – 3 p.m., foyer, third floor
MOLIÈRE AND CARAGIALE, FACE TO FACE
Stage reading with the actors: Anca Hanu, Cătălin Herlo, Elena Ivanca, Matei Rotaru
2.15 p.m. – 2.30 p.m. and 3.15 p.m. – 3.30 p.m., foyer, ground floor
PULCINELLA’S CLOCK
Fragments from a Commedia dell’arte show
Second-year drama students taught by Irina Wintze, Camelia Curuțiu-Zoicaș, and Ciprian Scurtea
2.30 p.m. – 5.50 p.m., foyer, second floor, on the right
WITH THE CAMERA ON MY SHOULDER
A screening of short films made by students from the Faculty of Theatre and Film, UBB Cluj-Napoca
4 p.m. – 5 p.m., foyer, third floor
SELECTOR SUGÁR from MeloMelanj will be playing music and mixing, using a selection of vinyl records
5 p.m., Studio Euphorion
HIERONYMUS, TONGUE OF GOLD after Michel de Ghelderode
One-woman show with Mihaela Morar
At the invitation of the National Theatre. A show produced at the Faculty of Theatre and Film, UBB Cluj-Napoca
Third-year drama student taught by Filip Odangiu, Sinkó Ferenc, and Diana Aldea
6 p.m. – 8 p.m., the Great Hall
A SORT OF HARAP-ALB
After Ion Creangă
At the invitation of the National Theatre. A show produced at the Faculty of Theatre and Film, UBB Cluj-Napoca
Third-year drama students taught by Ionuț Caras and Mara Opriș
7 p.m., Studio Euphorion
CRONIC after The Reunification of the two Koreas by Joël Pommerat
At the invitation of the National Theatre. A show produced at the Faculty of Theatre and Film, UBB Cluj-Napoca
Third-year drama students taught by Filip Odangiu, Sinkó Ferenc, and Diana Aldea
7 p.m., “Radu Stanca” Studio, The Faculty of Letters
PULCINELLA’S CLOCK
A Commedia dell’arte show
At the invitation of the National Theatre. A show produced at the Faculty of Theatre and Film, UBB Cluj-Napoca
Second-year drama students taught by Irina Wintze, Camelia Curuțiu-Zoicaș, and Ciprian Scurtea
Special Events:
11.15 a.m. – 4 p.m.
BACKSTAGE TOURS guided by the actors of the National Theatre of Cluj-Napoca
All throughout the day:
Foyer, third floor: the exhibition JOURNEY THROUGH THE WORLD OF THE NATIONAL THEATRE
Foyer, second floor: the exhibition RECYCLE ART by Vlad Mureșan
Foyer, third floor: CERAMIC CAFÉ
The National Theatre of Cluj-Napoca is inviting you to take part in the celebration of the 60th World Theatre Day, on March 27th 2022.
World Theatre Day was established in 1961 by ITI (The International Theatre Institute in Paris) and has been celebrated every year since 1962, when Jean Cocteau wrote the first address especially for the event. Ever since, each year, an important personality has been invited to compose this message. This year, it was written by Peter Sellars: theatre, opera, and festival director.
World Theatre Day is meant to promote theatre in all its forms all over the world, making people aware of the value of this artistic field, and to share the joy of theatre with everybody. Therefore, with this purpose in mind, we are inviting you to take part in a special event in which the theatre and the public can come to know and rediscover each other. In preparation of the main event, we have set up an outdoor exhibition in the pedestrian area of Eroilor Boulevard (next to the Memorandum Monument), which was organised in partnership with the National History Museum of Transylvania. The vernissage will take place on March 18th, at 11 a.m.
A Journey through the World of the National Theatre – with people, about theatre, with love is designed as a dynamic exhibition, with questions that are bound to catch the attention of the passers-by and answers in the shape of beautiful photographic images. It is suitable for all ages and will be open from March 15th to March 27th 2022. The people of Cluj, young and old, will have access to important yet less-known details about the exterior and the interior architecture of the National Theatre, about the great cultural personalities, both local and national, who have left their mark on the history of the Theatre and about performances which have become legendary. At the same time, the exhibition is a celebration of the beautiful projects happening at the moment at the National Theatre: events such as Doors Open Day and Night, The Festival “International Encounters in Cluj”, outdoor shows during “The Days of Cluj”; above all, it is meant to celebrate the people acting on stage and working backstage, who have kept and still keep the magic of theatre alive.
The main event of World Theatre Day will take place on the stage of the National Theatre of Cluj-Napoca and represents the debut of a project organised in partnership with the local association Create.Act.Enjoy.
Thus, on March 27th 2022, at 7 p.m., you are invited into the Great Hall, recently reopened at full capacity, for the show The Gamblers by N.V. Gogol, directed by Ionuț Caras. For the first time in the history of the National Theatre of Cluj-Napoca, the actors will be joined on stage by Iulia Savoș, psychopedagogue, systemic psychotherapist, and sign language interpreter, who will translate the play in real time for the hearing impaired audience. Thus, the association Create.Act.Enjoy, in line with its main project, i.e., promoting wellbeing and therapy through community art, proposes an encounter between the National Theatre of Cluj-Napoca and vulnerable groups, with the aim of increasing awareness regarding access to cultural events for these spectators. The National Theatre will continue this partnership, and the project is bound to be further developed, so that certain shows will be periodically adapted to various categories of disabled spectators.
Access to this show is free of charge for the hearing impaired and is allowed based on a ticket obtained from the Ticket Office by presenting one’s identity card. For the other spectators, the price remains unchanged.
All theatre lovers are welcome to watch the show! The performance will also have English supertitles, so that it can be enjoyed by as diverse an audience as possible.
The evening will begin with the reading of Peter Sellars’ international address, and right after the show you will be invited to take part in a conversation with the production team. On the evening of March 27th, we have another premiere, as well: we are launching the on-demand video platform TNC at HOME, which will provide theatre lovers around the world with the possibility to access the recordings of the most beloved productions of the National Theatre. With the aim of facilitating and expanding access to our shows, all the recordings on the platform have Romanian and English subtitles. The platform can be accessed through the National Theatre’s website, www.teatrulnationalcluj.ro.
You are all invited to join us on this special day dedicated to our Theatre!
“The theatre of epic vision, of purpose, of recovery, of recreation, and love requires new rites. We do not need entertainment. We need to come together. We need to share space with one another and to cultivate common space. We need protected spaces for deep listening and equality” (a fragment from Peter SELLAR’s Address on World Theatre Day 2022).
The National Theatre of Cluj-Napoca reaffirms its solidarity with Ukraine in these times of severe humanitarian, social, and political crisis.
We have joined the initiatives of the Ukrainian Union from Romania, the Cluj Branch, which has set up a special fund called “For peace in Ukraine and solidarity with the Ukrainian people”, with a view to providing humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian citizens from the areas affected by the war.
Financial aid can be given through the accounts opened at the Commercial Bank of Romania, Bucharest, Sector 1:
Account in RON: RO69 RNCB 0209 0061 5787 0001
Account in USD: RO42 RNCB 0209 0061 5787 0002
At the same time, a collection box will be placed in the foyer of the National Theatre before and after each show, with the resulting sums being transferred into the aforementioned accounts.
Donations can also be made on March 27th 2022.
2020 was filled with unexpected challenges, as well as previously undiscovered resources and unimaged strength. Therefore, we are not giving up: just like every year in December, we are inviting our spectators to DOORS OPEN NIGHT! This year, the encounter will be a virtual one, but it will take place with the same joy and emotion.
NPD 2020 (Doors Open Night 2020), the event’s ninth edition, will happen online, on the Facebook page of the National Theatre of Cluj-Napoca, https://www.facebook.com/TeatrulNationalClujNapoca, on the eve of Saint Nicholas Day, i.e., Saturday, December 5th, starting at 6 p.m.
The event will begin with a series of creative workshops for our younger spectators, led by Dora Baba from “Scenica, a Gateway to the Arts” (Bistrița), who might be familiar to many of you, since she has also been involved in our yearly globe-painting workshop, one of the most beloved workshops held on Doors Open Night. Together with Dora, we will learn to create the most fun and original holiday decorations.
A significant moment will be the inauguration of the theatre’s virtual tour. From now on, whenever you miss it, you can come in virtually, roam the foyers undisturbed and explore at leisure the architectural wonders of the National Theatre of Cluj-Napoca.
The night will be full of beautiful moments; it will continue in the company of our guest of honour, the actor Marcel Iureș. Marcel Iureș, our magical Prospero from The Tempest, directed at the National Theatre by Gábor Tompa in November 2019, will have a dialogue with Mihai Măniuțiu, an old friend, well-known theatre director, and manager of the National Theatre of Cluj-Napoca.
The event will end on a cheerful, appropriate, and relevant note, i.e., with the broadcast of Winter Songs for All Seasons by Ada Milea, with Ada Milea, Cristian Rigman, Anca Hanu, Romina Merei, and Miron Maxim.
The show can also be watched online until Sunday, December 6th, at 6 p.m.
The Event’s Full Schedule:
6 p.m. – CREATIVE WORKSHOP with Dora Baba, part I, 5+
6.30 p.m. – CREATIVE WORKSHOP with Dora Baba, part II, 5+
7 p.m. – CREATIVE WORKSHOP with Dora Baba, part III, 5+
7.30 p.m. – VIRTUAL TOUR of the National Theatre of Cluj-Napoca – premiere
8.30 p.m. – THE GUEST OF HONOUR AT NPD 2020: MARCEL IUREŞ in conversation with Mihai Măniuțiu
10 p.m. – WINTER SONGS FOR ALL SEASONS, musical show by Ada Milea, GA (1 h)
You are all warmly invited to join us this year, as well, on the night when we provide more than theatre, opening both doors and hearts!
 |  |  | |  |
| Atelier de creație cu Dora Baba - partea I | Atelier de creație cu Dora Baba - partea a II-a | Atelier de creație cu Dora Baba - partea a III-a | ||
 |  |  | ||
Tur virtual în clădirea Teatrului Național | Invitatul special, actorul Marcel Iureș, în dialog cu regizorul Mihai Măniuțiu | Spectacol: „Cântece de iarnă pentru toate anotimpurile“ | ||
Dear Spectators,
We haven’t gone away! We are still here and we are constantly looking for ways to meet with you.
This time, we are proposing another imaginative game, reminiscing together about the wonderful moments we have shared. Starting here, we will then picture a future in which hugs are once again in fashion.
To begin with, we are inviting our public to join us on the theatre’s website and Facebook page on Saturday, November 14th 2020, between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., for a day when the doors will be symbolically “open” to a future as we desire it: TOGETHER.
Thus, as a manifest symbol, we are inviting you all to DOORS OPEN DAY.
We have prepared surprises for all ages, which are meant to compensate for the hugs we cannot give at the moment!
We have many reasons to want to see each other again. At this edition of the Doors Open Day, we will use technology to travel by imagination to the same place: the National Theatre.
We are awaiting each of you with great enthusiasm!
The TNCluj Team
