“Edith Alibec’s performance is beyond revelatory” (The Upcoming)
A bridge between reality and fiction, Edith Alibec’s multi-award-winning adaptation of Aglaja Veteranyi’s autobiographical book follows a family of circus artists who flee the Communist regime in Romania in the hope of establishing a better life in the West.
Among the caravans and the circus tents a family are caught between two worlds: the colorful, transfiguring high-top where the mother performs her death-defying stunts and the harsher reality of a nomadic life, where home is only to be found in your mother’s cooking.
Told from the perspective of the youngest child, this lyrical darkly comic tale is the story of a family always on the road and always the foreigners.
With the ability to be staged in three different languages (English, German and Romanian), this versatile production has previously been performed in Bucharest, Zurich, New York, Stockholm and Germany. It will be performed in English at the Gate Theatre.
Winner of the 2018 Bacău Fest Trophy, Actors for Actor Trophy and the Ştefan Iordache Onorific Prize.
Trigger warnings:
The show contains references to a fire-related incident and descriptions of violence that some viewers may find distressing.
The show contains flashing lights.
Watch the trailer:
Background:
Edith Alibec witnessed the refugee crisis in Germany first-hand, as she met with refugees and visited their social camps. Her adaptation seeks to highlight the vulnerability in being forced to leave home and trying to find a new place in the world:
“I lived in Germany for three years, and in the first few months I did not find my place and I started to idealize my home country, Romania. At the same time, the refugee crisis in Germany grew and I wondered how it must feel for them…They’re being forced to flee their home and live in a foreign country, exactly like the play’s heroine. This show was born out of my need to talk about what does it feel like to not have a home.”
Read the blog from Edith Alibec on how she produced the award-winning play.
