Timișoara hides fascinating secrets in the dark of night, and Night Theater is the ray of light that reveals a world parallel to the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Who are the people who walk the streets in the dead of night? How do they see the city and how do they feel under the street lights? We invite you to get on the electric bus and listen to this story full of intrigue and emotion, staged by graduates of the Faculty of Music and Theatre of the West University of Timișoara. But before that, let’s tell you a few words about each of them.
Iulia-Victoria Ioana is a young actress who, despite her age, has already accumulated a diverse professional experience. Timișoara audiences might recognise her from productions at the National Theatre “Mihai Eminescu” in Timișoara, where she has worked both with established directors such as Oskaras Koršunovas and Radu Iacoban and with emerging directors such as Alexandru Weinberger-Bara. However, the independent theater scene is not foreign to her – in 2022 she collaborated with the Cultural Association Arte-Factum and played the role of the grandmother in Eréndira&her grandma/replayed. The red thread that seems to unite the projects in Iulia’s portfolio is her fondness for contemporary texts that address topical, relevant and connected to everyday experiences. The perspective she brings to the Nocturn team is (perhaps even unintentionally) influenced by the ‘lives’ of the characters she has embodied up to this point in her career – characters who have in turn questioned the values that underpin the society we build every day and how such values influence individuality.
Andrei Zgăbaia is a collaborating actor of the National Theatre “Mihai Eminescu” in Timișoara, where he works with directors known to the general public such as Gigi Căciuleanu, Mihai Măniuțiu, Ada Lupu Hausvater and Tompa Gábor, but he also works on the independent theater scene and sometimes dabbles in cinema. Andrei says that his inclination for acting was evident to him as early as secondary school when he discovered that he felt at ease when he “told people interesting stories”. For him, acting is a never-ending story, a story that gives him a daily chance “to travel through all kinds of worlds” – in the morning in the Crete of Zorba the Greek, at lunchtime in the world of Caragiale and, after a short break, among the characters of Molière’s world. For him, the essence of his vocation lies in his ability to “reach people’s souls”, a skill Andrei puts to good use in the context of Nocturn, letting his soul be touched by the real stories of the people of Timișoara who inspired the show and (re)presenting them so that they touch the souls of the whole community.
Darius Zet is also a collaborating actor of the “Mihai Eminescu” National Theatre in Timișoara. His debut took place in 2019 in the show Green Cat, under the direction of Claudia Ieremia. Darius played the role of Dani, a teenager who has an alcoholic father and a green cat that he imagines when he feels down. Since his debut, Darius has had the opportunity to work with many other important directors such as Gigi Căciuleanu, Radu Iacoban, Ada Lupu Hausvater and Tompa Gábor. Sensitive and modest, he puts it all down to chance: “I’m very grateful. I was lucky to meet special people who trusted me”. The chemistry of the trio of actors in Noctrun is guaranteed, with Darius sharing the stage with both Iulia-Victoria Ioana (EXOD, directed by Oskaras Koršunovas) and Andrei Zgăbaia (Rhinoceros, directed by Tompa Gábor; Zorba the Greek, directed by Mihaela Lichiardopol and Women’s School vs. Men’s School, directed by Gigi Căciuleanu).
Night Theater is an event open to all Romanian speakers, including the visually impaired and those with reduced mobility. We expect this traveling theater experience to provide magical memories and create strong connections between the audience and the night world of Timișoara.
Tickets for the Night Theater are here.
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This project is part of the national cultural program “Timișoara – European Capital of Culture in 2023” and is financed through the Grow Timișoara 2023 program, carried out by the Project Center of Timișoara Municipality, with funds allocated from the state budget, through the budget of the Ministry of Culture.
The Night-Art Festival is presented by George, the first smart banking.
Sponsors: Fan Courier, Iulius Town, ATP Motors, Pepsi
Project partners: Leeds City Council, In-Edu Association Timișoara, German Cultural Center Timișoara, Cluj Cultural Center, West University Timișoara, University of Art and Design Cluj-Napoca, Polytechnic University of Timișoara
Communication partners: Getica OOH, Aushopping galleries, Kiss Fm, Euromedia, Pressone.ro, G4Media.ro, World Wide Print, Daisler Print House, Știri din România, Tion, Express de Banat, IQOOL, Zile și Nopți, Știri de Timișoara, NewsVest, Adevărul, TVR, Radio Timișoara, România Pozitivă, Best of Timișoara