- by Alexandru Kiriţescu
- Directed by: Lucian Iancu
- Set Design: Lăcrămioara Dumitraşcu
- Coreography: Raimonda Potlog
THE MAGPIES - A sad play, but a performance that triggers a lot of laughter.
The production, dating from 2012, is highly appreciated by the audience of Constanta. It is one of the best comedies of morals in the Romanian dramaturgy, in which the author satirizes, with exceptional humor, the greed, cynicism and dehumanization of the bourgeoisie at the beginning of the 20th century.
There is a lot of humor in this performance, but viewers remain with a bitter taste. The amorous adventures of the Duduleni clan, the lines’ savory and the succulent gossip, paradoxically highlight the tragic destinies of some of the characters.
The author of "The Magpies" is Alexandru Kirițescu (1888 - 1961), the inter-war dramatist who covered, in his plays and in his articles, the main issues of his contemporary social life, and wrote "The Dictator" in the years of World War.
The Romanian audience became acquainted with the characters of his most important writing, "The Magpies", through the movie "Nest of Wasps", from 1987, directed by Horea Popescu.
Cast
- Aneta Duduleanu: Dana Dumitrescu
- Zoia: Maria Lupu
- Lena: Cristina Oprean
- Margareta Aldea: Lana Moscaliuc
- Mircea Aldea: Andu Axente
- Fräulein: Mirela Pană
- Wanda Serafim: Luiza Martinescu
- Colette Duduleanu: Laura Iordan
- Georges Duduleanu: Adrian Dumitrescu
- Ianache Duduleanu: Remus Archip
- Zamfira: Liliana Cazan
- Grădinarul: Vali Neata
Reviews
"The director placed a particular focus on the theater's 'junior' team, and his expectations were not disappointed. Dana Dumitrescu, in the role of... the venerable 'head' of the Duduleni clan, Aneta, stood out in a complex and rewarding role, delivering lines with fervor and complementing them with expressive gestures, effortlessly capturing the audience's attention, as well as that of the characters under her 'authority.' She is supported by the other two 'magpies': Zoia, the younger sister from Caracal, 'where the cart of fools overturned,' portrayed with flair by Maria Lupu, who fires back at the hostess's lines, and the more subdued Aunt Lena, the 'funeral lady,' as Aneta calls her, with ominous dreams, brought to life successfully by Cristina Oprean." (Mirela Stîngă - "The Magpies Took Over the Stage and the Audience's Attention")
Mirela Stîngă / Telegraf
https://www.telegrafonline.ro/pdf/8c37ccc3165d7dfabc73c5d41f2d2b89.pdf
"The production was a true success, and at the end, the people of Constanța applauded non-stop for minutes, as the actors of the State Theatre fully deserved their gratitude. For two hours, the actors managed to transport us into an entirely different story, into another world, and without realizing it, we lived alongside the characters, feeling as though we were part of the theater performance." Sabrina Ana Nedelciu, Cuget Liber Constanța (Sabrina Nedelciu - ""The Magpies" Took Over the Stage of the State Theatre")
Sabrina Nedelcu / Cuget liber
https://cugetliber.ro/stiri-cultura-educatie-gaitele-si-8221-au-impanzit-scena-teatrului-de-stat-127016
"From Dana Dumitrescu's performance, the critical gaze on the character is evident, that split personality which shows the audience that their laughter is misplaced, that we are dealing, beyond the situational and linguistic humor, with a mother who plans and then, with morbid curiosity, watches the disaster of her daughter's marriage, as coldly as she watches the funeral processions passing by the boulevard every day. Lena Moscaliuc's character, Margareta, is also unmasked: she is not the fragile and sickly being, misunderstood and unhappy, the victim of her entire uncouth family, the betrayed lover, but the beast who chooses her prey, traps it in the shackles of selfish love, and drags it into her warm lair, from which she doesn't let go until she suffocates it." (Alina-Ioana Vasiliu - "A Sad Play That Was Laughed At. Still, Why 'The Magpies'?)"
Alina Vasiliu / Blog
http://alinavasiliu.ro/teatru/o-piesa-trista-la-care-s-a-ras-mult-totusi-de-ce-gaitele/