Roma Heroes
This is the title of the first
international Roma Storytelling Festival organized by Independent Theater
Hungary on 27-28 July 2017 in Studio K Theater (1092 Budapest, Ráday u. 32.).
By presenting the monodramas of four contemporary European playwrights, the special cultural event aims to shed light
on the values of Roma theatre, draw attention to the situation of Roma
communities, especially of Roma women, and to put exemplary life courses, role
models and heroes in the spotlight.
The international festival of Roma
theatre in Budapest focuses on personal stories.
The programme of the
two-day-long festival include four monodramas, all presenting real life Roma
heroines who were able to initiate changes in their own life or in their community.
The four plays deal with powerful personal stories and social issues in the
once harrowing, other time humorous form of storytelling.
Three out of the four plays will be
performed by the authors themselves, with Hungarian and English surtitles or
interpreting.
Alina Serban (Romania) - ‘I
Declare at My Own Risk’;
Mihaela Dragan (Romania) - ‘Del Duma’;
Dijana Pavlovic (Italy) - ‘Speak, My Life’.
The performance of the fourth monodrama, ‘Hardest Word’ by the British Richard
O’Neill, will be the Hungarian premier of the play, directed by Rodrigó Balogh
and performed by Edina Dömök.
“Although
the European Roma Theatre has more than 130-year-long tradition and there are
active and professional Roma theatre artists in several countries, Roma theatre
is hardly known” - claims Rodrigó Balogh, artistic director of the Festival
organizer Independent Theatre Hungary. “That’s
why we’d like to show that Gypsy culture is not limited to dance, music and
visual arts; there is outstanding value in the field of theatre as well.
Getting to know these values may serve as inspiration for Roma communities and
theatre professionals as well.”
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| Alina Serban/Photo |
From the play I Declare at My Own Risk by Alina Serban (right), we learn about how the playwright got to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, starting from a Roma settlement in Bucharest.
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| Mihaela Dragan/Photo |
Del Duma by Mihaela Dragan (left) tells about the life of Gypsy women in Romania
and the difficulties they have to face.
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| Dijana Pavlovic/Photo |
In Speak, My Life by Dijana Pavlovic (right) unfolds the life story of Mariella Mehr, the Swiss Jenish writer, and the attempted genocide of Jenish people in Switzerland in 20th century.
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| Richard R. O'Neill/Photo |
Hardest Word, the play by the British author, Richard R. O’Neill (left), presents how Jess Smith, the Scottish traveller woman, confronts the first minister of Scotland and fights for the recognition of Traveller people’s human rights.
After the festival, the authors with the help of Hungarian education experts will develop an educational methodology based on the monodramas, addressing university students.
The aim of the educational material is to show valuable Roma plays and Roma heroes to Hungarian and foreign youngsters; moreover, to help the students to present their own heroes in a creative way.
In autumn 2017, the educational methodology is planned to be taken to - mostly Roma - students in Hungary, and in the following years, to access youngsters in further European countries.
Main supporter: Badur Foundation