The team of the State Theatre of Constanța is going on tour, while renovation work begins at the Studio Hall.
The 2023-2024 season of the State Theatre of Constanța ended with the preview of the play Casa Bernardei Alba, and in May and June, three of the theatre's productions were selected to participate in several festivals.
At the same time, the Studio Hall will undergo much-needed renovations. As you may remember, the hall was set up in 2022 under a tight deadline when the theatre building began rehabilitation work, in an office space that was quite unsuitable, especially for actors, who had very difficult conditions—shared, cramped dressing rooms with no toilets separate from those for the public—and an old, unattractive façade with a similarly small and unattractive foyer.
Unfortunately, since the space is privately owned and rented by the State Theatre of Constanța, renovations could not be carried out, as the law does not allow public funds to be used for investment works in real estate that is not part of the public domain. For this reason, we sought and found private partners: the Stebingăr Architecture Studio, which pro bono designed the renovation project, and the Romanian Commercial Bank, which provided significant sponsorship to help cover the necessary works.
Since in the summer months, the time when most tourists visit Constanța, we want to be able to schedule performances as part of SEAS 2024 - the Summer Season of Performing Arts, the only solution to complete these works was to stop performances in May and June.
In recent years, since the State Theatre of Constanța began organizing SEAS – the Summer Season of Performing Arts, the months of July and August have not been vacation time, as is the case for most performance institutions and concert venues, but rather we work full throttle. Therefore, May and June were dedicated to festival participation, organizing SEAS 2024, and granting legal vacation time.
The first trip of the theatre was to Baia Mare, where on May 15, we performed Zece lucruri pe care le-am pierdut la Festivalul Mamaia, directed by Elena Morar and Gabriel Sandu, as part of the Aproape Festival.
The same performance then traveled to Suceava, where we performed on May 17 as part of the Zilele Teatrului Matei Vișniec Festival.
In Târgu Jiu, as part of the Elvira Godeanu International Theatre Festival, we performed Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, directed by Andrei Șerban, on May 20.
Another performance of Twelfth Night was presented on May 22 at the prestigious Shakespeare International Festival in Craiova, where the Constanța theatre was invited for the first time.
At the beginning of June, we went to the Short Theatre International Festival in Oradea, where we presented the play Jocuri în curtea din spate by Edna Mazya, directed by Diana Mititelu.
Our production Zece lucruri pe care le-am pierdut la Festivalul Mamaia, directed by Elena Morar and Gabi Sandu, was scheduled for the final evening of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival on June 30.
We hope to publish the SEAS 2024 program at the beginning of June, eagerly awaited by both Constanța spectators and those visiting the seaside in July and August. As in previous years, you will be able to see both productions from our repertoire and those of many other performance institutions from around the country. The weekend dedicated to street theatre – SEAStreet International Festival 2024 – will also be featured.
At the start of the 2024-2025 season, the official premiere of Casa Bernardei Alba by Federico García Lorca, directed by Diana Mititelu, will take place. Also, another production directed by Radu Afrim will be staged for the public in the first part of October.
We thank you for your interest, for your support, and we look forward to seeing you at all the events of the State Theatre of Constanța!