The Sibiu International Theatre Festival
SITF 2010- a happy ending story. Hope to see you again in 2011!
The 17th edition of The Sibiu International Theatre Festival took place between the 28th of May and the 6th of June 2010, featuring the theme „Întrebări” / „Questions”. SITF, the most prominent annual performing arts event from Romania and the third in the world in terms of vastness and importance, has compiled a programme which gathers in Sibiu guests from 70 countries and presents 350 events which take place in 66 venues, with an average of 35 000 visitors per day. Outstanding companies from the performing arts field, Romanian and foreign directors, critics, operators from the local and regional tourism, foreign cultural operators, tens of thousands of viewers from the local, regional and international community meet in Sibiu to celebrate, over ten festival days, the artistic creation and creativity within a cultural event which aims at identifying and promoting the valid international benchmarks in the field.
The cultural offer of this edition is substantially rich and varied, presenting the finest productions in Romanian theatre, major international productions, as well as street and music performances, which take place daily in the Large Square, on the streets of the Old Town and in the medieval fortresses in the Sibiu surroundings, dance – theatre performances (flamenco, ballet, contemporary dance), puppet theatre, light performances, pantomime, conferences, debates, photographic and painting exhibitions, book launchings, installations and workshops, which take place both in conventional venues, but especially in unconventional ones, turning Sibiu into a genuine cultural capital of the world.
The 17th edition of The Sibiu International Theatre Festival hosted the performances of some of the most high-profile and successful theatre directors worldwide, giving the Romanian audiences the opportunity to witness exceptional performances. Within a special event, Odin Teatret (Denmark) brought to Sibiu two performances staged by the illustrious Italian director Eugenio Barba: “Inside the Skeleton of the Whale” and “Ode to Progress”. Schauspielhaus Zürich (Switzerland) together with Teatro Garibaldi di Palermo (Italia) and Bart Production s.à.r.l. presented the latest performance staged by one of the greatest directors in contemporary theatre, Peter Brook. “Why, Why” is an almost liturgical search for the origin and development of the theatrical process, a quest for purpose, which brings in front of the audience the performance of the remarkably talented actress, Miriam Goldschmidt from Burgtheater (Vienna, Austria). Deutsches Theater Berlin (Germany) introducedto the audiences in Sibiu the story of Poprishchin in a performance made after one of the best known short stories of Russian writer N. V. Gogol: “The Diary of a Madman”, directed by Hanna Rudolph, featuring actor Samuel Finzi. A world premiere, Transversal Theater Company (United States / Netherlands) came to Sibiu to challenge the chivalric codes of King Arthur and The Knights of the Round Table in the performance „The Green Knight”.
Levan Tsuladze returned to Sibiu with Basement Theatre (Georgia) to introduce the audience here to his „Faust” by J. W. Goethe, an adaptation which impresses by its originality. One of Japan’s most successful companies of experimental theatre, Yamanote Jijosha, came to Sibiu to present their own interpretation of the classic text by Sophocles “Oedipus Rex”, using the performance technique called “Yojo-han”. Another special event was the performance of Quanzhou Marionette Troupe (China), a company whose puppeteers use a traditional technique over 2 000 years old and they manipulate marionettes with up to 36 strings.
The programme of this edition of The Sibiu International Theatre Festival also included, for the first time in the history of a Romanian theatre festival, a National Heritage section, which comprises the most successful performances of The “Radu Stanca” National Theatre of Sibiu, from the large scale productions “Metamorphosis” after Ovid and “Faust” after J. W. Goethe, directed by Silviu Purcărete, and “Electra” after Sophocles and Euripides, directed by Mihai Măniuţiu, to the latest endeavours, such as “Breaking the Waves” after Lars von Trier, directed by Radu Alexandru Nica, “Turandot” after Carlo Gozzi, directed by Andriy Zholdak, “Berlin Alexanderplatz” after Alfred Döblin, directed by Dragoş Galgoţiu, or “The Guide of Retrocede Childhood”, directed by Gavriil Pinte. The latter will have its premiere during the Festival.
Dance theatre performances had a special place in this year’s programme of the Sibiu Festival as well. The companies from Israel have accustomed us with impressive performances, both technically and aesthetically, and in 2010, the audience enjoyed the theatre, dance and opera production “Rooster” from The Suzanne Dellal Centre for Dance and Theatre, as well as the contemporary dance productions “Upon Reaching the Sun” and “Aide Memoir” presented by The Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company. The highly acclaimed British company Motionhouse presented in Sibiu “Scattered”, a performance which combines the company’s trademark highly physical dance theatre and mesmerizing aerial imagery with film and graphics, to create a unique visual event.
Staggering street performances, installations or itinerant performances, full of acrobatics, drawing on air, water or fire, enlivened yet again, over ten days, the historical centre of the city. Cie Transe Express (France), dedicated to “celestial art” and “intervention theatre”, appears to have no limits in terms of means of expression used and invited the audience to take part in three exceptional performances: „Les Tambours en Feu”, „Mobile Homme” and „Mobilissimo”. Giant puppets took over the city in the Spanish performances by Carros de Foc, and the pyrotechnics, as well as fire, created unforgettable nights through the performances of the French, Salamandre. For the first time, Sibiu International Theatre Festival hosted street performances by a Romanian company: Xtreme mix acrobatics and spectacular choreographic moves which defy gravity. The company is trained by Dorel Moiş, gold medallist at the European and World Aerobic Championships, and by the choreographer Debra Brown from Cirque du Soleil.
For the music enthusiasts, Sibiu International Theatre Festival hosted live performances by some of the most successful Romanian and Moldavian music artists on the stage in the Large Square: Holograf, Cargo, Zdob şi Zdub and Direcţia 5.
Dan Perjovschi is one of the most sucessful Romanian visual artists in the world and his exhibitions are absolute performances. After his shows have amazed visual art devotees from cultural centres such as Brussels, Eindhoven, Helsinki, Cologne, London, Liverpool, New York, Paris, Seville or Sidney, The International Theatre Festival hosted an event – exhibition of the great Sibiu born artist, during this year’s edition.
All through the festival we have presented book launchings, play reading performances and conferences, which brought in front of the audience influential personalities of the national and international cultural field, such as Eugenio Barba, George Banu, Pippo Delbono or Mircea Dinescu. In addition, the 13th edition of the Open Market for Performances took place between the 3rd and the 6th of June.
The Sibiu International Theatre Festival and The “Radu Stanca” National Theatre enjoy the support of some of the major institutions from Romania and abroad, and it is a strategic objective of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage who, together with the Local Council of Sibiu, is the main financier of this event. Sibiu International Theatre Festival enjoys the support of The Romanian Presidency, The County Council and The European Commission, the support of the cultural centres and the embassies of the countries accredited in Romania, and the support of the international networks and private sponsors.
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For General Administration Inquiries, please contact:
Cristina Boian
e-mail: management@sibfest.ro
For Press Inquiries, please contact:
Adrian Tibu
e-mail: press@sibfest.ro
mobile: +4 0761 646 084
For International Relations (English), please contact:
Petruta Popescu
e-mail: festival@sibfest.ro
For International Relations (French), please contact:
Ramona Hristea
e-mail: festival@sibfest.ro