Press
release
Between 24-27 May
2018, Independent
Theatre Hungary organized the second “Roma
Heroes” international storytelling festival in Stúdió K Theatre. The special cultural event
drew attention to the values of Roma drama and storytelling as well as the
situation of Roma communities by presenting eight contemporary European plays,
putting example-setting lives and extraordinary challenges into the
spotlight.
The international Roma theatre gathering
in Budapest focused on personal storytelling. The program of the four-day-long
festival concentrated on Roma heroes who are able to initiate changes in their
own lives and in their communities. The protagonists’ active behaviour stays
with us after the show and makes us think about the story.
The performances of the Spanish, Italian,
Bulgarian, Romanian, British, Irish and Hungarian artists were diverse, not
only geographically speaking, but also in style and topic. Black irony, childlike
purity, manifesto-rigour or surreal images – all were present. There were plays
which not only urged the spectators to think and feel with the character but
also to move their bodies. Sonia Carmona presented female heroes opposing the
communist and the Franco-regime in the 20th century, Richard O’Neill told about
a teacher threatened by his boss, Michael Collins shared the challenges of
Irish travellers through his own experiences, Alex Fifea unveiled the story of
a man killed by the police, Natalia Tsekova staged a woman first trying to get
rid of and later becoming proud of her own identity. Franciska Farkas, also starring
in several films, made a harshly honest confession about her own life, just as
Sebastian Spinella, who ended up at storytelling coming from the world of
circus and music. The festival organizer Independent Theater presented a show
about a supergirl, starring Emília Lovas and directed by Tamás Szegedi, written
from the stories of the Roma youngsters who participated at the workshops based
on the plays of the last year festival.
“This
event provided an opportunity for the Gypsy communities, theatre professionals,
the academic and civil sector and the general public to meet. After each show,
a conversation was organized which gave place to meaningful discussions”- said Rodrigó Balogh, artistic director of
the festival - “It is vital that the
plays showed the world we live in from different perspectives: Gypsy artists
are just as diverse as the members of any other social group. The performances
were also recorded on video which will help numerous youngsters to learn about
the values of Roma drama and share their own hero-stories in the frame of
workshops and university courses.”
Christopher Machin, American Cultural
Attaché, who opened the festival, and Pat Kelly, Irish Ambassador, who closed
the event, agreed with the performers that storytelling has an immense power
which can bring the different social groups closer to each other.
***
Further information
Sponsors of the event:
Independent Theater Hungary
Rodrigó Balogh, artistic director
+3620-390-5403, balogh.rodrigo@gmail.com
Márton Illés, programme manager
+3620-390-7099, illes.marton80@gmail.com
http://independenttheater.blogspot.com/