PROMETEU'22, at the Finisterra Festival in Porto!
Finisterra Festival, organized by The National São João Theater of Porto and UTE, in the period of: the 27th of January until the 25th of February, represents the climax of the Catastrophe project intiated by the European Union of Theaters. After the performances of the shows will take place in all the partnering theaters, the Portuguese audience will have the opportunity to see, for five consecutive weekends, the international coproductions created inside of the project.
Drawing from ancient Greek tragedies, the following co-productions were created: IOCASTA (Prague City Theatres, Czech Republic; Slovak Chamber Theatre - SKD Martin, Slovakia; directed by Lukáš Brutovský), FOCS/VATRE (Catalan National Theatre, Spain; Yugoslav Drama Theatre, Serbia; directed by Carme Portacelli), DECALOGUE OF ANXIETY (Sfumato Theatre Laboratory, Bulgaria; National Theatre of Luxembourg; directed by Margarita Mladenova and Ivan Dobchev), IPHIGENIA (National Theatre of Strasbourg, France; Compagnie Les Productions Merlin, France; directed by Anne Théron), PROMETEU’22 (Hungarian State Theatre of Cluj, Constanța State Theatre, Romania, and SNT Drama Ljubljana, Slovenia; directed by Gábor Tompa).
As part of the Catastrophe project by the European Theatre Union, the production PROMETEU'22, directed by Gábor Tompa, was a collaboration between the Hungarian State Theatre of Cluj, Constanța State Theatre, and SNT Drama Ljubljana. The play premiered in July 2022 in Cluj, was performed seven times in Ljubljana in October 2022, and twice in January 2023 in Constanța.
In Porto, PROMETEU'22 was staged twice during the festival: on Friday, February 10, at 9:00 PM, and Saturday, February 11, at 7:00 PM, in the Main Hall of São João National Theatre.
Based on Aeschylus's ancient tragedy Prometheus Bound, the performance is delivered in Hungarian, Romanian, Slovenian, and English.
"Whether Prometheus saves himself or not is irrelevant, as he becomes the subject of news and loses his heroic aura. Does the Titan sacrifice himself for humanity and the fine arts? Perhaps, but the answer lies with the audience. Do we still need art today? Does spirituality still define us? Can the authentic value systems we once held dear be replaced by better ones? We do not know the answers, though we may sense them. In truth, we are all aware of the considerable effort needed to avoid losing our direction in a world dictated by sensationalism, fake news, and fleeting impressions." – wrote Nona Rapotan.
The cast includes actors:
- SNT Drama Ljubljana: Igor Samobor, Domen Novak, Eva Jesenovec,
- Constanța State Theatre: Cătălina Mihai, Florin Aioane, Ecaterina Lupu, Mirela Pană, Dana Dumitrescu,
- Hungarian State Theatre of Cluj: Gábor Viola, Áron Dimény, Tamás Kiss, Anikó Pethő, Eszter Román, Zsolt Bogdán, Andrea Vindis, Melinda Kántor.
The production team includes:
- Assistant Director: Erwin Șimșensohn,
- Set and Costume Design: Carmencita Brojboiu,
- Original Music: Vasile Șirli,
- Dramaturgy: Ágnes Kali,
- Choreography: Ferenc Sinkó,
- Video: Radu Daniel,
- Set and Costume Collaborator: Gyopár Bocskai.