After almost one and a half century from the first staging of A Stormy Night, Caragiale's text retains its powers of fascination over actors, directors, and spectators. Oftentimes this fascination, rather than being driven by a desire to modernise, to bring into the present the romantic, social and political themes fiercely painted by Caragiale's humorous and sarcastic brush, stems from the very charm and vibrancy of that age, solidifying the image of the eternal Romanian, after having now reached that distance which is essential for trigerring off the mechanisms of the comic. The more we try to escape that image, the stronger it becomes - our unshakeable shadow. It is impossible today not to be aware of the glaring clash between essence and appearance, the unfounded pretension, the empty political discourse, the fleeting romances, the betrayals and love triangles of the so-called good society for which being fashionable - in thought and in behaviour - is the highest law. Castigat ridendo mores, the Latins would say, and there is no doubt that Caragiale still has the power to sanction the unwarranted whip wielders of Romanian society.
Ștefana Pop-Curșeu
