Morten Bruun

The project “Perifeeria – Political Theatre Platform 2021-2022”, aims to facilitate access to culture and develop the capacity for (self)representation through theater for socially, economically and culturally marginalized groups and categories.

The project has several directions: 34 performances of the shows from the Political Theatre Season; development of three research workshops and three new shows, produced in partnership with organizations from Zalău, Turnu-Măgurele and Bârlad, coordinated by Irina Gâdiuță, Bogdan Georgescu and David Schwartz; organizing two online workshops on viewpoints and composition methods, coordinated by Norwegian actor Per Bogstad Gulliksen.

The project takes place between May 2021-October 2022. The political theatre season will run from September 2021. The new shows will premiere in October 2021 (Irina Gâdiuță, Zalău), April 2022 (Bogdan Georgescu, Turnu-Măgurele), respectively September 2022 (David Schwartz, Bârlad). The performances will be developed together with the local communities in the respective cities, will start from histories and issues documented locally and will address topics related to the intersection between various forms of oppression and marginalization (poverty, discrimination, limited access to education and culture). The three shows will be performed in large nearby cities (Iași, Craiova, Cluj) and in Bucharest as well.

This is the second time I partner with these artists, as I also took part in the the Political Theatre Platform 2015. The partnership will consist in organizing and supporting the two online viewpoints and composition workshops. They will be conducted by Norwegian actor Per Bogstad Gulliksen, and addressed to the actresses and actors involved in the project. We will also produce a physical course compendium for the participants.

For the new productions, artists explore, document, and create artistic products that provide insight into the quality of life and the possibilities for improving it in deprived areas. The starting point will be the real stories collected during research. Each step of the creation process for the three new productions will benefit from a research and a creative residence, hosted in the intervention centers, where documentary workshops, dramatic workshops, music workshops, scenography, video and new media will take place – selected based on the topics addressed and their scenic representation. Artistic residencies will result in 3 contemporary theater plays and 3 theater productions. The theatrical productions will then be presented in each town involved and in the proximity centers – Craiova, Cluj and Iasi, along with Bucharest – in order to give visibility to the documented realities and to explore the possibilities for building bridges for possible solutions.

Each representation of the new productions will be followed by a public debate. The public debates will be broadcast live on the project website as well as on the online socialization platforms. An essential component of the PERIFEERIA project is the continuous professionalization of the artists involved – both the artists directly involved in the creation of the three theater productions, as well as the local artists, residency fellows and the members of the communities. The dissemination of the methods and the working techniques to the local communities involved aims to support local initiatives for representation through culture, cultural education and community construction through theater.

Project management team: Irina Gâdiuță, Bogdan Georgescu, Nicoleta Ionescu, Carmen Lopăzan, Adina Marincea, Monica Marinescu, Katia Pascariu, Cătălin Rulea, David Schwartz

Partners and collaborators: Morten Bruun Company, Replika Educational Theatre Center, Constantin Hamangiu Association Bârlad, Urbanium Association Turnu Măgurele, Zalău County Museum of History and Art

Project funded by the EEA Grants 2014 – 2021 under the RO-CULTURE Program EEA and Norway Grants RO-Culture Program